Dragon Chronicle
by Zesh
Summary: Gokuu decides to tell Gohan a bedtime story about his adventure to save the world with Max and Monica. When Emperor Griffon finds out about the Dragonballs, he decides to go after them... Who will get the Dragonballs first? Spoilers inside.
1. Introducing Son Gokuu

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2) or Dragon Ball.**

**Spoiler warning: This fanfic contains spoilers for those who haven't finished the Fortuneteller Baba saga in Dragon Ball or those who haven't completed Dark Chronicle up to the **_**very **_**last boss in Chapter 8. This will have a small crossover with Dark Cloud 1 in later chapters and has a small crossover with Dragon Ball Z in the beginning and in later chapters (it's nothing big—just little Son Gohan and adult Son Gokuu, and for Dark Cloud 1, it'll be Toan and his group).**

**Chapter One: Introducing Son Gokuu**

Four-year-old Son Gohan sat upright in bed, looking expectantly at his father, Son Gokuu. Gokuu was scratching his chin, thinking. Chichi, Gohan's mother, had already gone to bed, and it was Gokuu's turn to tell him a bedtime story.

"And you've heard about the rabbits on the moon, right?" Gokuu said.

"Yeah," Gohan replied, nodding.

"Hmm…" Gokuu stopped scratching his chin and looked down.

A few seconds passed. He suddenly looked up, his face brighter than it normally was and his eyes twinkling, making Gohan jump.

"I know what to tell you as a bedtime story! It was a real fun adventure that happened a long time ago. It was really long—the perfect adventure _and _bedtime story! I remember it real well. It happened back when I still had my tail…"

* * *

Twelve-year-old Gokuu walked through the forest dragging a giant Nonky—a fish—behind him. Kamesennin had asked him to go on a journey alone without Kintoun, much to his dismay. He was to get as strong as he could and then return for the next Tenkaichi Budoukai that was being held in three years. He only brought his Nyoi-bo and four-star Dragonball with him. His Dragonball was the last thing that he had of his grandpa, Son Gohan, and he needed it more than ever since he had recently fought his grandpa and seen how strong he was. It also kept loneliness away.

When Gokuu had entered the forest a week ago, he had instantly felt right at home. It reminded him of his old home—where he had spent time with his grandpa before his grandpa died. The animals in this forest and in his home forest were different, but he was okay with that. He was able to make friends with most of them quickly. They had even sparred with each other. The animals here were great fighters. Gokuu would get stronger in no time.

* * *

"Ready, Max?"

"Yup."

Maximilian and his recently encountered ally, Monica Raybrandt, entered Rainbow Butterfly Wood. They were on a journey to restore the world and defeat Emperor Griffon, a beast that had somehow destroyed the world fifteen years ago; find the legendary Rainbow Butterfly along with Holly, a long-lost friend of the Firbit tribe; and find the four Firbits that had went into the forest to find Holly but never returned.

Max and Monica were set on edge as they began encountering monsters: Himarras, Skeleton Soldiers, Man-eating Plants. Max had a hard time handling the monsters, as they were almost invulnerable against wrenches and guns. Max, unable to finish off the monsters, often had to turn the fighting over to Monica and let her finish. Monica said nothing about his inexperience.

Max wasn't feeling very confident after a while, but he refused to back down and would continue to press on to find his mother. His mother, whom he didn't remember the face of. His mother, who was "doing important work far away." His mother, who he wanted to see so badly…

While Max and Monica were walking through the forest, both of them saw a young boy with a tail walk past them in the opposite direction dragging a fish twice the size of him.

"Mornin'," the boy said.

"Good morning," Max and Monica both said at the same time. They were used to being greeted like this—Max in Palm Brinks, Monica in her kingdom that was now laid to waste.

Max and Monica continued to walk until Monica stopped and said, "Wait, did you see that kid with a tail?"

"Tail?" Max stopped beside her. He looked back and saw the boy with a tail walking away from them. "Yeah, I see what you're talking about. C'mon, let's check it out."

Max ran towards the boy, Monica following close behind. The boy heard them coming, stopped, and turned around. Max and Monica stopped in front of the boy.

"Hey, I just saw you guys," the boy said. He had black hair that spiked out on both sides and wore orange clothes that belonged in a dojo or some kind of karate school. There was a Japanese character on the front of it, but Max and Monica couldn't recognize it. "Mornin'. I'm Son Gokuu."

"I'm Maximilian," Max said, surprised by the boy's friendliness.

"I'm Monica," Monica said. "Um, sorry for bringing this up so suddenly, but do you have a tail?"

"Yup," Gokuu said, dropping his fish and turning around so they could see. He waved his tail twice.

"Ew."

"What about it?"

"Nothing. Nothing in particular. Just curious." Then, she thought, _What on earth…?_

"Do you guys have tails?" Gokuu ran behind Max and checked to see if he had a tail. Then, he ran behind Monica and checked to see if she had a tail. On his way back around Monica, he caught a glimpse of a blue stone. He stopped and backtracked, looking at the blue stone on Monica's glove closer.

Max and Monica watched as Gokuu got a blank stare on his face. The color drained from his eyes, and he froze. He didn't even look like he was breathing anymore.

"Are you okay?" Max said.

Gokuu grew in size, becoming hairier and more beastly. His clothes ripped off his body as he grew. The Nonky he was carrying, two times bigger than Gokuu before his transformation, was small in comparison to the new, rapidly growing Gokuu.

"What's happening?" Monica said as Gokuu grew several feet in an instant. Soon, he didn't look like a boy; he looked like an ape.

Gokuu began to destroy everything. An approaching Skeleton Soldier was crushed by Gokuu's foot. Gokuu knocked over a nearby tree with a swipe of his right arm. He roared.

"So Gokuu's really a monster?!" Max said as he dodged the ape's swinging tail.

"It sure looks like it!" Monica saw Gokuu's foot about to crush her, so she backflipped out of way. "We're gonna have to fight him!"

Max and Monica tried to fight him, but they couldn't touch the ape. Gokuu was rampaging so much that they were dodging more than landing hits. When they did hit, their weapons seemed to have no effect, as Gokuu kept rampaging like nothing had happened.

"Maybe there's some way we can get him back to being a boy," Max said as he ran away with Monica. Gokuu hadn't noticed and was still destroying everything he saw.

Monica looked back at the violent beast. "I don't think so, Max. It looks pretty impossible to me."

Max looked at Gokuu and his swinging tail. _His tail… _he thought. _His tail… _"Monica, I have an idea, but I don't know for sure if it'll work."

"It's better than nothing!"

Max and Monica ducked at the same time when Gokuu threw the Nonky he had been carrying before. The Nonky flew over the both of them.

"Right, but only you can do it," Max said, he and Monica standing back up. "I don't think apes can be apes without their tails, so I need you to go back there and cut off his tail. If you do that, something might happen."

"Okay. I'll wait for a chance and then cut it off." Monica turned around and began running back towards Gokuu. Gokuu was too busy crushing a Himarra and Skeleton Soldier with one hand to notice her. Monica leapt at the tail and slashed at the tail with all her strength, but her sword bounced off of the tail and landed on top of a bush.

Realizing she'd have no chance to retrieve her sword while she was near Gokuu, Monica began running back to Max. The ape had seen her by now and swung its tail, catching her in the back. Monica flew back past Max.

"Monica!" Max yelled, running towards her.

Monica kept flying for a few feet more and then hit the ground. She rolled on the ground until skidding to a stop.

"Monica…!" Max bent down next to Monica. She had some bruises, but it was nothing serious. She was unconscious and her sword was gone.

Max stood up and watched the beast continue to destroy everything that moved. The ape was still crushing the now dead Himarra and Skeleton Soldier.

Max had never wielded a sword before, but now he had to. He had to try to cut off Gokuu's tail before Gokuu left Rainbow Butterfly Wood and targeted innocent people. He dropped his Battle Wrench and Classic Gun and then ran where Monica was before she had gotten hit. He looked around for her sword. He found it on a bush to the right of him. He ran over to the bush, took the sword, readied himself, and charged towards the tail.

Instead of hacking at it like Monica had done before, he used the sword like a knife and cut through it slowly, like one would cut meat. The ape dropped the Himarra and Skeleton Soldier and let them disintegrate. Gokuu, in pain, roared and swung his tail madly. Max managed to grab on to the tail and held on with his feet and left hand while cutting the tail off. Gokuu began slamming him into the ground repeatedly. The light dimmed as Max borderlined going into unconsciousness. He realized that if he was knocked out, however, he could be killed. It took all of his strength to hold on and simultaneously cut off the tail when he wasn't being slammed into the dirt. Soon, Gokuu's tail was cut completely off, and Max and the tail fell down.

Gokuu froze. He gradually changed back to his old self. When he was back to normal, he fell facefirst on the ground. His body began slowly rising up and down. Max went over to Gokuu, but stopped a few feet away. Gokuu was snoring.

_He's sleeping,_ Max thought.

Monica ran over to the two boys. She carried Max's Battle Wrench and Classic Gun. She saw Max with her Long Sword in his right hand and said, "You cut off his tail, huh? You might make a good swordsman one day, Max."

Max scratched the back of his head. "Maybe."

"We should take him to the train. He probably didn't do that on purpose. I mean, did you see the look on his face when he saw my Atlamillia?"

"Atlamillia?"

"You don't know what the stone around your neck is?"

Max held up the red stone and looked at it. "No. My father gave it to me and didn't tell me what it was."

"I'll explain later. Right now…" She looked at the sleeping Gokuu, who now had a bubble coming out of his right nostril, expanding and contracting simultaneously with his body.

"Right." Max picked Gokuu up and slung him over his shoulder.

No monsters attacked Max or Monica on their way back to Sindain Station, most likely because they had all been scared off by Gokuu when he was an ape. When they got to the train, they went inside. Max laid Gokuu on a bench.

"Looks like he'll be out for a while," Max said.

"Yeah," Monica replied. "When he wakes up, we'll be able to see if he really is a monster. But I'm beat, Max. Let's lay down for a bit."

Max and Monica lay on separate benches and got some much needed rest.

* * *

Monica felt herself being shaken. She opened her eyes and saw a naked Gokuu, and then closed her eyes. She suddenly opened her eyes again and saw a naked Gokuu.

"Hey, don't come in front of me like that!" Monica said, covering her eyes. "Ew!"

"Huh?" Gokuu looked down. "Oh, so _that's _why I was so cold!"

"Don't just stand there, put some clothes on!"

"I don't think I brought any extra clothes."

"What's going on?" Max was now awake. He saw Gokuu and said, "Oh…"

Gokuu turned to him. "Do you have any extra clothes?"

"I might. Hold on." Max left the train car. A few minutes later, he returned with his red vest—the vest he used to wear when he was at home. "Here." He handed Gokuu the red vest.

Gokuu put the vest on. It sagged onto the ground.

"Thanks!" Gokuu said. "I don't think I'll be able to fight that well in it, though… I'd better try first!" He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Monica said, uncovering her eyes.

"Huh?" Gokuu turned back around.

"You don't remember what happened this morning?"

"I had just caught my fish, and then I saw you guys, and then I fell asleep. Yeah! Which reminds me, I'm hungry."

"You mean…you don't remember turning into a monster?"

"Monster? What?"

"You turned into an ape," Max explained. "We had to cut off your tail to get you to change you back."

Gokuu looked behind him at where his tail was supposed to be. Just as Max had said, it was gone. "No wonder I felt weird! Oh, and sorry `bout that. That happens when I look at a full moon while I have my tail." Gokuu looked at Monica's Atlamillia. "Hey, nice rock! Anyways, I'm gonna go and see if I can fight in these clothes and get something to eat. Bye!" Gokuu ran off, tripped and fell, then got back up and continued out the door.

"Talk about carefree," Monica said. "Let's catch up to him and ask him about the Rainbow Butterfly."

"Right." Max followed Monica towards Rainbow Butterfly Wood.

* * *

The Skeleton Soldier guarded. Gokuu kicked its sword, struggling with getting his foot out of the vest, making the kick weaker. The force of the kick made the Skeleton Soldier take a step back. Then, Gokuu punched the soldier, struggling with getting his arm out of the vest, making the punch weaker. Once again, the soldier took a step back.

"This isn't good," Gokuu said, looking at the vest. "I can't fight that well with this on. Maybe I oughta ask Kamesennin for another uniform." He looked at the Skeleton Soldier. "Thanks! You can go now."

The Skeleton Soldier ran off into the forest.

"Hey!"

Gokuu looked behind him. Max and Monica were running up to him.

"Hey, it's you guys again!" Gokuu said.

Max and Monica stopped in front of him. They panted for a few seconds.

"We have a question for you," Max said. "Have you ever seen the Rainbow Butterfly?" He stretched.

"Rainbow Butterfly?" Gokuu said. "I've seen lots of butterflies, but none of them were rainbow."

Max and Monica looked disappointed.

"What, you looking for it?"

Max nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I'll help you!"

"Really?" Monica said, her disappointed look disappearing. "That's great!"

"I need to get my Dragonball first. Come on!" Gokuu ran ahead.

"Dragonball?" Monica ran after him along with Max.

"Yeah, it's my grandpa's. When all seven are gathered together, you can make a wish!"

"Can the wish be anything you want?" Max asked.

"Yeah!"

"Max, maybe we'll be able to take out Griffon if we wish for him to disappear," Monica said.

"Yeah!" Max replied.

"Griffon?" Gokuu said.

"He's an evil beast who's destroying this world," Monica said. "We don't know why he's doing it, but we have to stop him before the whole world is gone." She then went on to explain about the Firbits, their power to restore towns, and the missing members of their tribe. She finished with, "All seven of the Firbits have to be there in order for their power to work."

"So if we beat up Griffon," Gokuu began, "he'll stop destroying the world?"

"Uh, yeah, kinda…"

"That's easy!"

_I hope he got the rest, _Monica thought. "Do you know where the rest of the Dragonballs are?"

"Nope," Gokuu said, "but Buruma has a Dragonball radar. If we go to her place, she'll give it to us. We'll run there!"

"Run there? We can just take the train."

"What's a train?"

"Remember what you were in when you woke up?" Max said before Monica could comment.

"Yeah," Gokuu said.

"That was a train."

"But you guys don't know where Buruma's place is, right?"

"Now that you mention it…"

"You guys can take Kintoun, and I'll run there `cause Kamesennin said I can't take Kintoun."

"Kintoun?" Monica said.

"Yeah, you guys can ride it if you have a pure heart. It's really fast—I bet even faster than a train!"

"And who's Buruma and Kamesennin?"

"Buruma's my friend, and Kamesennin used to be my teacher." Gokuu slid to a stop. "There it is!"

Max and Monica stopped beside him. There was a Man-eating Plant next to an orange ball with four stars in the middle.

"Thanks for guarding it!" Gokuu said, going over to the Dragonball and picking it up. "'Kay, I'm ready."

When the Man-eating Plant saw Max and Monica, it prepared to spew poison goo at them. Then, it saw Gokuu and stopped.

"If you don't want to carry that around all day, I can fit it in my bag." Max patted the pouch fastened around his waist.

"Thanks!" Gokuu put his Dragonball in the pouch.

"We're all ready now, right?" Monica said.

"Hold on just a sec." Max checked his pouch. "Looks like we used all the bread during the last couple of battles. Let's go back to Palm Brinks and buy some more."

"Okay." Monica paused. "I'm surprised that monster didn't attack us."

"Gokuu, you've been here for a pretty long time, right?" Max said. "I mean, you're friends with all the monsters in this forest?"

"Yeah, I think."

"That explains it."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu went back to Sindain Station. Gokuu stopped in front of the train while Max and Monica boarded it.

"Can something this big really move that fast?" he said.

"It can," Max said, stopping in the doorway of the train and looking back. "It's amazing!"

Max, Monica, and Gokuu boarded the train. Gokuu looked out the window as the train started moving. Everything became a blur as the train reached its top speed.

"This isn't going as fast as Kintoun," Gokuu said, standing on the seat and looking behind at Max and, behind him, Monica.

"Is Kintoun really that fast?" Monica said.

"Yeah! Much faster than this!"

When they arrived in Palm Brinks, Max, Monica, and Gokuu left the station, went to Polly's Bakery, and bought twenty loaves of bread. While they were in the bakery, Max saw a note card with an idea for an invention on it.

_A turtle, a cloth, and orange paint… _he thought._ Turtles are in the Underground Channel. _He had already taken a picture of a cloth and orange paint and had them in his photo album.

They left the bakery while Max put all the bread in his pouch.

"Before we go back to Sindain," Max said, "can we go to the Underground Channel? I have to take a picture of a turtle. It's for an invention."

Monica and Gokuu agreed. They followed him to the Underground Channel. When they were inside the Underground Channel, they saw Donny sitting near his tent and looking at his coin collection. He hadn't noticed the trio coming in. Instead, he was talking to himself, saying, "I just need those two, and then it'll be done."

"Donny, it's me," Max said.

"Oh." Donny put his coin collection down. "Hey, all." He stood up and went over to them. "Max, who're your two new friends?"

Max introduced Monica and Gokuu. He knew he would have to do a lot more introductions later when all the residents of Palm Brinks were awake.

Donny stared at them for a few seconds. Then, he said, "Well, y'all be careful in the dungeons, alright?" He took his coin collection and went inside the tent.

Max, Monica, and Gokuu proceeded to the third floor of the Underground Channel. Fortunately, the first monster they encountered was a turtle. Max took a picture of it and then guarded when the turtle rolled into him. When it got dizzy and stopped, he, Monica, and Gokuu left the channel and went to Cedric's shop.

Max laid the pictures of a turtle, cloth, and orange paint onto the desk near the door. "If I put all this together, I get…" He thought for a minute. Then, his face lit up. "I get the same clothes you were wearing earlier, Gokuu!"

"Great, I'll be able to fight properly!" Gokuu said. "Where are they?"

"Your clothes? Just a sec..." Max checked his pouch to see how much Gilda he had. "Yeah, that should be enough. I'll be right back." Max left the shop.

"Where'd he go?" Gokuu asked.

"I don't know much about the invention process," Monica said, "but I think he went to go get materials to make it."

A few minutes later, Max returned with Gokuu's uniform folded in his arms. He handed the uniform to Gokuu, and then Gokuu changed.

"Ew…" Monica had covered her eyes when she saw Gokuu beginning to take the red vest off. She now had them uncovered. "Next time, don't change in front of us, please."

Gokuu didn't understand why he couldn't, but he nodded. "I feel better!" He punched and kicked an imaginary monster while Max put his red vest into his pouch. "I'll be able to fight better in this!"

Max, Monica, and Gokuu left the shop and took the train back to Sindain. They stopped in front of the entrance of Rainbow Butterfly Wood while, in the background, Borneo and Erik grunted loudly, working together to move the boulders that blocked the way out of Sindain.

"Are you two ready?" Monica asked.

"Yup," Max said, nodding.

Gokuu was looking back at Borneo and Erik. He yelled, "Do you guys need help?!"

Borneo and Erik stopped what they were doing and looked at Gokuu.

"Yeah, that would be a lot of help," Borneo said. "Thanks!"

Gokuu ran to the boulders. He stretched his legs. Then, he cracked his knuckles. Gokuu's right leg became a blur, but an instant later it was back to normal. The boulders remained intact.

Gokuu turned around and began walking back to a confused Max and Monica, saying, "There, done!"

"But the boulders are still-" Erik was cut off as all four boulders broke into miniscule pieces at the same time. He, along with Borneo, stared after Gokuu with their jaws hanging.

"Is he human?" Borneo said.

Cedric, who was at the opposite end of the train but had also seen this, was speechless.

Gokuu stared at Max and Monica. They stared at him, wide-eyed and with their mouths open.

"What?" he said.

"Amazing…" Max said.

"What?"

"You…you're _that _strong…" Monica said. "You're _that_ strong…!" Monica's expression was replaced with a happy one, as was Max's. "With you, we might actually have a chance at beating Griffon! You're really fast, too—a perfect combination!"

"What'd you do back there?" Max asked.

"I kicked all four boulders." Gokuu lead the way into Rainbow Butterfly Wood. "I hope this Griffon guy's strong! I haven't had a good fight in a while!"


	2. Seals and Swamps

**Chapter Two: Seals and Swamps**

The forest seemed never-ending. It teemed with monsters, all of which did not attack Max, Monica, and Gokuu at all. Gokuu said it was because he was friends with all of them.

Trees were knocked down over rivers, indicating that Max, Monica, and Gokuu were advancing to the next floor. Gokuu said he had chopped all of them down himself.

"Have you ever gotten to the end of the forest?" Monica asked as they continued deeper into the forest.

"End?" Gokuu said. "We were just at the end. You know, where the train was."

"…Actually, that was the beginning," Max said.

"Oh. I came in the wrong way, then."

"What was it like down there?" Monica said.

"There was a big clearing with a pond in the middle, and then there was a waterfall."

"That's all? No sign of the Rainbow Butterfly?"

"No."

"This might take longer than I thought…"

"Maybe it'd be better if we had an aerial view," Max said. "Gokuu, you still have Kintoun, right?"

"Yeah, but I can't ride it. Kamesennin said so."

"Monica and I can ride it and look for the Rainbow Butterfly while you stay down here and look for it."

"Great idea, Max!" Monica said.

"Kintoun!" Gokuu yelled. A cloud suddenly appeared next to Monica. However, she showed no sign of being surprised and got on the cloud behind Max, who had gotten on a second before her.

"Kintoun's really fast," Gokuu said, "so you guys should be able to find the Rainbow Butterfly in no time! I'll be running for some exercise while looking, too." He looked at the cloud. "Kintoun, go around the forest and help Max and Monica chase down the Rainbow Butterfly, okay?"

Kintoun did nothing. Monica rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'll be off! Bye!"

Max and Monica's eyes practically popped out of their sockets when they saw Gokuu take off. He ran faster than both Max and Monica had ever seen. He was gone before as quickly as he had said, "Bye."

"Y-Yeah…" Monica said, a little shaken by Gokuu's real running speed. "L-Let's go, Max."

"Okay," Max replied. Before Max could tell it to go, Kintoun slowly took off over the trees. It went slow to allow Max and Monica an opportunity to look for the butterfly.

Monica began to look around, as did Max, as she talked. "How big is this butterfly? We don't know if it's just a speck or if it's really big."

"Good question," Max said. "Guess it just means we'll have to look hard for--" The top half of his body rammed into something hard. Monica was lurched forward, running into Max. Kintoun continued forward, leaving Max and Monica behind. They fell down. Kintoun caught them right before they hit the ground, Max landing on his back, Monica landing on her rear.

"Wh-What was that?" Monica said, her mind scattered.

Max sat up. His head was pounding. "I don't know, but it felt like some kind of wall." He looked down at the cloud. "Thanks, Kintoun."

"C'mon, Max. It's just a cloud."

"Maybe so, but the way Gokuu was talking, he made it seem like it's alive, especially since it can tell who and who doesn't have a pure heart."

"Still…" Monica turned to the side and hopped off Kintoun. She began walking towards the wall. "Where was this wall, anyway?"

"It was up here somewhere." Max was now off Kintoun and walking towards the wall. He ran into it again, but this time, he remained pressed into it. The wall was colored red where the area of his body was. "Right here."

Monica, who was past the wall, said, "Well, that's strange. I can get past it, but you can't."

Max, still pressed to the wall, saw a blur run past him. As it ran past, it said, "Hey, guys!" It skidded to a stop before going too far away and ran back next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Max recognized the former blur as Gokuu. "I haven't found anything yet. How's the search going for you? And what's wrong with you, Max?"

"We haven't found anything, either." Max released himself from the wall. It turned invisible again. "And nothing except this wall is wrong."

"What wall?" Gokuu said.

"Well, since you just ran through it, you aren't affected, either…" Monica said. "I wonder why Max is the only one singled out."

"Maybe it has something to do with this." Max held up his red stone.

"Try taking it off."

Max took his stone off and gave it to Gokuu. He went forward and bumped into the wall. The wall, once again, turned red where Max was and disappeared when he released himself.

Gokuu went through the wall. "I can go past it, even while I'm holding this."

"Wait, hold on a minute," Monica said. "Gokuu, you can _touch _the stone."

"Yeah."

"That's a special stone, you know. Not everyone can touch it." When Monica saw Max and Gokuu's confused faces, she said, "I'll explain in full detail later. Since the wall probably somehow knows that Max was chosen by the stone, it still won't let him through." When she saw Max and Gokuu get even more flustered, she said, "Like I said, I'll explain everything later."

There was a moment of silence. Max and Gokuu stared at Monica.

Gokuu gave Max his stone back and grinned. "I have an idea!" Max and Monica's attention was turned to him. "If it won't let you through down here, use my Nyoi-bo"—he touched the cypress stick attached to his back—"to go up really far up and then going through it. Try going to outer space and see if it helps!"

"…You're kidding, right?" Monica said.

"Well, it's far-fetched, but we don't have any other ideas," Max said, putting his stone around his neck while Gokuu took Nyoi-bo off his back. "I'll try it."

Gokuu placed Nyoi-bo into the ground. He twisted it while pushing downward. Once he was sure it was firmly planted, he said, "Grab onto it, and I'll tell it to extend."

Max gripped the cypress stick.

Gokuu opened his mouth. Before the word "extend" could come out of it, Monica said, "But you can't breathe in space. Won't Max, uh…"

"I went in space once," Gokuu said. "I put rabbits on the moon using my Nyoi-bo. And I could breathe out there. It was weird, though. It looked like there was some kind of ruins on the moon, like something used to be there." When he saw Max's surprised face—his mouth was hanging open and he was wide-eyed--and Monica's "Yeah, right" expression, he said, "It's true!"

"Um… Okay…" Max said. "Do it."

"Nyoi-bo, extend!"

Nyoi-bo did as it was told. Max closed his eyes when Nyoi-bo suddenly extended, his hunting cap flying off his head. Gokuu caught it.

Max's ears popped as he went higher. Nyoi-bo came to a sudden stop, making Max almost fall off. He opened his eyes and saw that there were stars all around him. Surprisingly, he could breathe.

"This must be it," he said, looking around. "Wow…"

Earth was directly below him. Some stars around him were brighter than the others, and Max assumed these were planets. There were a few asteroids floating around and, in the distance, it looked like there was the moon.

Max could've looked at and explored space for an eternity, but he knew that he had to get back down the Earth before Monica and Gokuu—mostly Monica—started to worry. Max reached forward with his arm, being careful not to move any other part of his body, as he was afraid of losing his grip and falling. Max's hand touched the wall, and red encompassed the area of his hand.

"That didn't work, either." Max felt his stomach drop as Nyoi-bo withdrew as quickly as it had extended. Max closed his eyes. His ears popped, and when he came to a jerking stop while still hanging a little in the air, he opened his eyes, and there was Monica and Gokuu standing beside each other. Max shook his head and let his feet touch the ground.

Gokuu's face lit up. He gave Max his cap back and began digging a tunnel that went around the wall. When he was finished, he said, "Try going underground!"

Max put on his cap and entered the tunnel. He crawled until his head hit something hard. For a brief moment, he saw stars. His head began to throb. He poked his head outside the tunnel and, holding his head, said, "That didn't work, either…"

"Well, Max," Monica said, "it looks like you're stuck. But Gokuu will ask the monsters and see if they know anything. Right, Gokuu?"

"Yeah!" Gokuu said.

"Stay here. We'll be back for you soon." Monica ran beside Gokuu past the wall and deeper into the forest.

Max sat down on Kintoun. He held up and his stone and looked at it. "What exactly…is this?"

* * *

Gokuu asked all the monsters if they had ever come by a mysterious wall that prevented them from going any further. All except one said, "No."

It was a Tortoise that had divulged more information. "That's called a Red Seal. I heard about them from some other human that had come by. He said, and I quote, 'If the person that had the Red Atlamillia was here, he would be stuck somewhere between here and the previous floor—unless he defeated all the monsters. But, since they're all still here… Ah, well. Back to Palm Brinks.' Does that help?"

"Yeah!" Gokuu said. "Thanks!"

The Tortoise slowly began to leave.

"It must've been Flotsam that came by here," Monica said after Gokuu repeated some of what the Tortoise had told him. "If there's a Red Seal that blocks the person chosen by the Red Atlamillia, we can pretty much bet that a Blue Seal will come up soon. We have to kill all the monsters so Max can go further."

"Okay! Hey, turtle!"

The Tortoise slowly turned around and looked at Gokuu.

"You and me are gonna fight! C'mon!" Gokuu ran towards the Tortoise. The Tortoise snapped at him, but Gokuu dodged it by jumping into the air and landing behind it. Gokuu kicked it and sent it flying towards a Tore over the bushes. The Tore had little time to react: the Tortoise went through the Tore, tearing the Tore in half. The Tore instantly disintegrated. Gokuu assumed that the Tortoise, who had kept flying, was going to disintegrate when it fell on the ground somewhere.

Monica stared at the spot where the Tore had disintegrated at for a moment. Then, she looked at Gokuu. "You sure like fighting, don't you?"

"Uh-huh! I hope some of them put up a good fight!" Gokuu ran deeper into the forest, Monica following.

* * *

Gokuu defeated most of the monsters without breaking a sweat. Monica wasn't having trouble except on the Skeleton Soldiers and Tortoises. The Skeleton Soldiers had gotten much stronger since she had fought them on the first floor. They blocked most of her attacks, and she had to use her charge attacks on them to knock them down and then finish them off.

The Tortoises were even harder than the Skeleton Soldiers. They were practically invulnerable to Monica's sword, and she had to use her brassard to beat them. It took seemingly endless fireballs to defeat the Tortoises. The Tortoises guarded most of them, too, which made it even worse. It was a long and tedious job.

Once Gokuu had beaten a Tore, he returned to the clearing where he had asked the Tortoise about Seals. Soon after he arrived, Monica showed up. There were scratches and bruises on her face, and she was sweating.

"Looks like they're all gone," she said. She stared at Gokuu for a few seconds. "Aren't you hurt?"

Gokuu shook his head. "None of them really fought back."

"Go figure. You're pretty strong."

Gokuu grinned.

"Anyway, let's go get Max." She turned around and saw Max standing in front of her. "Oh, hi, Max! The Seal's gone?"

"Yup."

"On to the next floor."

They continued towards the next floor. Once again, the tree over the river leading to the next floor was chopped down, so there was no need for the Fairy Saw Monica had gotten from one of the monsters. They balanced themselves on the tree bark and carefully made their way across the river.

There was a small pathway leading to the next floor. As they progressed, it got darker and darker until it seemed like it was nighttime. Then, they came to a clearing. Several dwarves were spread out across the clearing, and all except one lay down. That particular dwarf was sitting on a log, fishing.

"Hey, I remember this place," Gokuu said. "None of these guys would talk to me except that guy on the log." Gokuu pointed to the dwarf sitting on the log.

"Those are Firbits," Monica said. "Did you see a woman among them?"

"Nope."

Max pointed out that something was wrong with the Firbits, and that that was probably why they wouldn't talk to Gokuu.

"Let's check it out," he finished.

Max, Monica, and Gokuu tried asking the Firbits who were laying down where Holly was, but all of them responded similarly: they were happy there and were never going to leave.

"That's a problem," Gokuu said.

"We have to find a way to make them snap out of it," Max said.

Monica pointed to the Firbit sitting on the log. "Maybe he could give us a clue."

"I'll go talk with Master Utan." Gokuu ran off towards another clearing before Max or Monica could stop him.

Max turned to Monica. "Master Utan?"

"He's a friendly monster that doesn't hurt people. It doesn't matter if you're friends with him or not. Since Gokuu already came by here, he probably knows him already."

Max and Monica ran over to the fishing Firbit and proceeded to ask him about the other Firbits.

* * *

"Hi, Master Utan," Gokuu said, approaching the giant, brown monster.

Master Utan was sitting and looking down. There were reddish-purplish apples beside him, along with a tree with the reddish-purplish apples hanging on its leaves. "Hi, Gokuu! How are you?"

"Good." Gokuu went over to the apples. "I'm hungry. Can I have one?"

"Don't! You can't eat the Holy One's food! You'll get paralyzed, like me."

Gokuu backed away from the apples. "Oh, okay. Who's the Holy One?"

Master Utan explained that the Holy One was a giant fish who commanded over the swamp.

"Can I eat him?"

"No."

"Aw, man… I'm really hungry."

"Try fishing for another fish in the lake," Master Utan said.

"Okay! But first, I need to know about those Firbits over there who won't leave."

"It's all thanks to the Holy One. He rules this swamp, after all."

"So if I beat up the Holy One, they'll leave?"

"Ask him first. I think he's in the swamp that you should've seen on the way here. Try giving him one of these apples over here and see if that helps."

"Okay." Gokuu picked up an apple. "I'll go get him!" He began running towards the swamp.

"I hope he's polite with him…and doesn't try to fish him out," Master Utan said to himself.

Once Gokuu got to the swamp, he dove in, apple in hand.

"Okay, where's this Holy One…?" Gokuu said, looking around.

"H-Hey! What're you doing with my food?!"

Gokuu looked towards his apple, where the noise was coming from. There was a giant purple fish staring at him with its giant teal eye.

"So _you're _the Holy One. You're the one hypnotizing those Firbits! You gotta stop!"

"What do I owe you? You're the one with my food!"

"Yeah! I'll eat it, too, if you don't change those Firbits back!" Gokuu opened his mouth and put the apple towards it.

"I don't care about the apple now! Your filthy hands are on it!"

"Filthy? That's it! Let's settle this with a fight!" Gokuu tossed the apple and charged towards the fish, his hand curled into a fist and his arm outstretched.

The Holy One got wide-eyed. "W-W-Wait! I didn't mean it! I'll change the Firbits back, just don't hurt me!"

Gokuu stopped, his fist an inch away from the Holy One's eye. "Okay. Do it right now. I'm running outta air here."

The Holy One blinked, sending a pink gas around the swamp. Gokuu flinched. When he opened his eyes, the Holy One was still staring at him with its one visible eye.

"It's done. Now, if you excuse me…" The Holy One swam off into the distance, leaving Gokuu alone.

Gokuu was unable to say anything. He quickly surfaced and began panting.

"Gah… I hope that fish changed those Firbits back. If not…"

"Gokuu!"

Gokuu looked towards the voice. He saw Max and Monica coming from where Master Utan was. Gokuu swam towards the shore. Once he got there, he got out of the water. He met Max and Monica halfway.

"Master Utan told us what happened," Max said. "We saw the pink gas, so you fixed everything, right?"

"The Holy One said he changed the Firbits back."

"Too bad Monica and I didn't get to see him… It would've made a great picture for Donny…"

"Yeah…" Monica said. "We'll fish him out next time. Let's go see the Firbits."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu ran to where the Firbits were. They were all standing up and gathered in a circle. They heard the trio coming towards them and looked at them. They changed their circle into a straight line facing the trio.

All the Firbits except the one who was fishing talked about how they didn't remember anything. Then, Monica mentioned Holly. Unfortunately, none of them could find Holly. Monica said that they should go back to Sindain before they continued their search.

"Wait!" Gokuu said after Monica turned around to leave. "I'm hungry. Can we eat first?"

Monica sighed while Max took out a Gummy from his pouch and held it up. Gokuu quickly made a fire and ate the small fish in one bite. He pulled out the remains of the fish, which were its bones.

"That wasn't very filling, but I'm not as hungry as I was," Gokuu said. "I'm ready now."

Max, Monica, Gokuu and the Firbits went back towards Sindain.

* * *

After the four formerly missing Firbits told Conda, Rococo, and Tobo what had happened, Conda said that it was time for them to uphold their end of the deal. Gokuu didn't know what they were talking about, but he assumed that the deal was for Max and Monica to find the four missing Firbits and then Conda would do something for them. What Conda would do, Gokuu didn't know. When Gokuu asked Max and Monica about it, Monica said that they were going to help them restore the world.

Gokuu was interested in seeing how the Firbits would do so. He watched, excited, as all seven of the Firbits leapt into the bushes, Max and Monica on both sides of him.

Max, Monica, and Gokuu stared expectantly at the bushes, waiting for the Firbits to come out and restore the world…


	3. Restoring the World

**Chapter Three: Restoring the World**

Max, Monica, and Gokuu stood on the porch of the Firbits' home, waiting for all seven Firbits to come out of the bushes.

"So, once they do this, the world will be back to the way it used to be?" Gokuu asked.

"I hope so," Monica said. "It would save us a lot of trouble, that's for sure."

There was a loud whirring noise. Gokuu closed his eyes, hoping that, when he opened them, Sindain would be back to the way it used to be. He opened them when Max said, "Look!" and looked up. There was a giant machine floating in the air with multiple hands carrying various tools. To Gokuu, it looked like a barrel with a mustache, red eyes, and grass and a propeller on its back.

Max ran towards the machine, Monica and Gokuu following. Max stopped when a tree suddenly came from the sky and almost crushed him. He was inches away from the now planted tree.

"Hey! That thing almost crushed Max!" Gokuu said. "What is it?! Do we need to fight it?!"

"H-Hold on a sec, Gokuu," Max said.

Another tree was sent towards Monica. Monica backflipped out of the way moments before the tree was planted.

"It almost crushed Monica, too!" Gokuu said. He looked at the machine. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

The machine sent a tree towards Gokuu. Gokuu stopped it with both hands and thrust it upward. The tree, along with the machine's hand that was carrying the tree, flew into the sky until they weren't visible anymore. Max and Monica stared at the spot where the tree and arm disappeared, astounded by Gokuu's strength.

"That'll teach it!" Gokuu said, staring after the tree and the arm. He looked at the machine again and took a battle stance. "Alright! I'm ready! C'mon!"

The machine did nothing.

"Huh? Didn't you hear me? I'm ready! Come at me with everything you've got! I haven't had a good fight in a long time!"

The machine did nothing.

"I'm coming up there, then!" Gokuu bent his knees and prepared to jump.

"W-Wait, Gokuu! It's me, Conda!"

"You turned into a machine?"

"…No, Gokuu."

A platform extended from the bottom of the machine, carrying Conda. The platform landed.

"Come on, you three," Conda said. "By the way, you're fixing that arm, Gokuu."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu stepped on the platform, and the platform lifted them into the interior of the machine. Max, still stunned by Gokuu's power, wasn't paying too much attention to the machine. Instead, he was wondering if Gokuu was human.

When he reminded himself that he was on a machine he might never get to go on again, Max began to look around while Conda explained that the machine was called the Carpenterion and that it could restore the world with the right materials.

Something caught the corner of Max's eye. He looked diagonally. There was a hole where it looked like something was supposed to go in. Gokuu had already noticed it was and was lowering his head towards the hole, about to poke his head inside of it.

Conda noticed what Gokuu was about to do. "Hold on, there! We don't want you to break the Carpenterion again. That slot right there is for Geostones only."

"Geostones?" Max said.

Conda explained that Geostones were knowledge of the ancients. They had the power to tell them what was needed in order for Sindain to be restored—with the necessary materials. He said that that a Geostone could be found on each floor of Rainbow Butterfly Wood.

"If that's the case," Monica said, "then why didn't we see them on the first couple of floors?"

"Actually, I saw some weird glowing rocks on the first couple of floors I was on," Gokuu said.

"Those were the Geostones," Conda said. "Bring one back here, and I'll tell you what to do next."

Conda backed up. The platform began lowering again, carrying Max, Monica and Gokuu. When the platform was lowered, they began running back towards Rainbow Butterfly Wood.

"That was an incredible machine," Max said.

* * *

"According to the map, we're almost there," Max said. He was holding a map up directly in front of his face while walking. Monica and Gokuu were following him as he guided them to the Geostone.

"It should be right…here!" Max stopped and lowered the map. In front of him was a Moler. The Moler tackled him, sending him flying backwards, the map dropping out of his hand. Max immediately got back up and withdrew his Battle Wrench and Classic Gun.

"Max, are you sure you're gonna be okay with those the whole time we're on this journey?" Monica asked. She had already withdrawn her Long Sword. Her Magic Brassard was on her arm, as it always was.

"Now that you mention it…" Max got sprayed in the face with goo that came from the Moler, cursing him so that he couldn't change weapons. However, that didn't affect him, as he didn't have any other weapons. The goo on his face dissipated. He raised his gun and shot at the Moler. The bullets went through the Moler, blood spraying out of the bullet holes.

Monica jumped forward and began to slash at the Moler with her sword. She was somewhat slow, as her sword was a little heavy, but she still managed to deal damage to the Moler fast enough so it didn't have a chance to retaliate. Blood spurted out of the deep cuts her sword left behind. Once she had given the Moler cuts that covered almost all of its body, she backflipped, landing next to Max.

"Alright! It's my turn!" Gokuu disappeared. Max and Monica looked around for him, as did the now cut up and near-death Moler. Gokuu appeared behind the Moler, saying, "Gotcha!" and dealt multiple punches in less than a second, disappeared, reappeared beside the Moler, dealt multiple punches, disappeared, reappeared in front of the Moler, dealt multiple punches, and then landed a punch in its stomach. Blood, along with a red, glowing stone, came out of the Moler's mouth. Max caught the Geostone, almost dropped it and then caught it again. The Moler's eyes rolled back. It fell on the ground and then disintegrated.

Max and Monica stared at the spot the Moler disintegrated at, wide-eyed. Gokuu was suddenly in front of them. Max almost jumped while Monica took a step back.

"That was fun!" Gokuu said.

"Who _are _you?" Monica said.

"Son Gokuu." Gokuu began heading back towards the entrance.

* * *

Max, carrying the Geostone, led the way back to Sindain. When he, Monica, and Gokuu arrived, they saw that Conda was already waiting for them. Conda gave them supplies they would need and then told them how to call the Carpenterion. Max called it. While they were waiting for the Carpenterion to arrive, Conda told them how to put the Carpenterion away.

Once the Carpenterion came, with the arm Gokuu had broken back in place with masking tape, the four of them boarded it. Conda told Max to put the Geostone into the reactor—the hole in the middle of the machine. Max did as he was told. Information that almost seemed random came up on a screen in front of them. Conda explained that the Carpenterion had downloaded all of the data they would need in order to restore the world.

Finally, he explained Polyn—the energy that confines how much one can build. He said that as long as they stayed within that limit, they would be fine.

"You're now prepared to begin building," Conda said. "I even fixed the arm so you three can get right to work. Now get to it! I'll be in the train just in case you need any more supplies—for a fee, of course."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu stepped backwards against the wall of the Carpenterion to avoid being taken down along with Conda. Once Conda had disembarked and the platform had reattached itself to the Carpenterion, they stepped forward again.

"I can't believe he wants to charge us for _saving the world_," Monica said.

Max turned around and looked at the screen. "Okay, let's get started." He read the data. "'Forest lake restored… Glowing mushrooms restored…' No info on how to restore them. Maybe going back into the forest will get us a Geostone with the information we need."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu disembarked the Carpenterion. As they ran towards Rainbow Butterfly Wood, the Carpenterion flew off into the distance.

* * *

Max, Monica, and Gokuu were about to enter Rainbow Butterfly Wood when Monica stopped.

"I don't think we can go any further," she said, "until Max gets better weapons. Come here for a second, Max."

Max went over to Monica. She told him about synthesizing weapons with items to get weapons to be stronger and eventually built up. She handed him some crystals and then gave some synthesis points to both his weapons to get him started. Max synthesized a few crystals to the Battle Wrench until the wrench began to glow green.

"That means you can build it up so it's stronger and has more of a chance against the monsters here," Monica said.

Max built the wrench up. It was now a wrench with a drill attached to it—the Drill Wrench.

He worked on his Classic Gun next. Once he was finished synthesizing, the gun began glowing green, and he built it up. The Classic Gun was now a trumpet. Max was confused. He examined the trumpet and saw the trigger on the bottom.

"It's a Trumpet Gun, I guess," he said.

"You're prepared now," Monica said. "Remember that your weapon will glow blue when it levels up, giving it a certain number of synthesis points. You can't tell how many it gets, though, so you can synthesize until your weapon rejects any more crystals. You can synthesize regular items, too, so you're not restricted to just crystals."

"Got it. I'm ready."

"Let's go, then." Monica ran towards Rainbow Butterfly Wood, Max following, and Gokuu leading the way.

* * *

Monica had the map this time. She wasn't saying anything, but led Max and Gokuu towards the Geostone. She stopped a few feet away from the Geostone, as she was afraid that another monster would take her by surprise, as the Moler did Max. She lowered her map and saw a Sonic Bomber with two Tores at its sides. She put the map away, drew her sword, and readied herself, as did Max and Gokuu.

Inside the Sonic Bomber was a Flotsam Balloon carrying the Geostone. Max reached into his pouch and, without taking anything out, pressed a button. The Ridepod rode up to Max from behind. Without looking back, Max backflipped into the Ridepod's seat. He grabbed the controls.

"Wow, that thing's huge!" Gokuu said, staring up at the Ridepod.

"It's the Ridepod," Max said. "It's easier to fight machines with this. Anyway, I've got the Sonic Bomber! Monica, Gokuu, take care of the Tores!"

"Right!" Monica said while Gokuu said, "Got it!"

The three went their separate ways, Max towards the Sonic Bomber, and Monica and Gokuu towards the two Tores.

* * *

Gokuu charged at the Tore. The Tore released six Kotores. Gokuu kept charging at the Tore until he was close to the Kotores. Then, he kicked all of them into the Sonic Bomber with one swing of his leg. They disintegrated the instant they hit the Sonic Bomber. Gokuu's Tore began waving its arms wildly, scratching Gokuu.

"Ow, ow!" Gokuu said, protecting his face with his arms. "That hurts!" He looked around while the Tore kept slashing his arms. There wasn't a way to escape the Tore's swinging hands...except down. Gokuu grinned.

Gokuu began spinning around, but managed to stay in place. When he thought he was fast enough, he hopped and then pushed down with all his strength while continuing to spin. He drilled himself into the ground.

The Tore stared at the hole Gokuu had left, waiting for Gokuu to come back up. Gokuu shot out of the ground directly below the Tore, hitting the Tore and sending it flying into the air. The Tore went so far that it wouldn't be seen again.

"Alright…" Gokuu said, stumbling. Everything around him was spinning. "All done…" He collapsed.

* * *

Monica slashed at the Tore's arms using her sword. The Tore's arms came off, making the Tore incapable of attacking Monica. Instead, it released an army of Kotores. Monica backed up. She was outnumbered by a few hundreds.

"How do I deal with this…?" she asked herself. An idea hit her. "That's it!" She closed her eyes and concentrated on her sword. She began charging power, channeling it into her sword. A Kotore threw itself into Monica and exploded on contact, throwing Monica backwards. She fell on her back inches away from a tree.

"Damn…" Monica stood back up. The Kotores were running after her. "I can't store power with those things coming at me." She looked around for a way to store power without the Kotores interrupting her. Her face lit up when she saw the tree she had landed near. She jumped up and landed on one of its top branches. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her sword. She began charging power, channeling it into her sword.

The Kotores couldn't jump up that high, nor could they climb a tree. They began ramming themselves into the tree Monica was in, making the tree shake. Monica, however, was still able to concentrate and charge power. When she thought there was enough power to eradicate all the Tores, she jumped off the tree and landed swordfirst in the middle of the Kotores, who were still trying to knock the tree down. She sent a shockwave through the crowd of Kotores, killing them all.

There was a lone Kotore coming at her from behind to explode and avenge its comrades. Monica heard it coming and backflipped behind it. Then, she kicked it, sending it into the mouth of the Tore she had torn the arms off of. The Tore began choking. A few seconds later, its eyes rolled back, and it fell, disintegrating.

* * *

The Sonic Bomber spun. While it was spinning, Max, who was inside and controlling the Ridepod, guarded. The Ridepod was equipped with its Cannonball Arms, Iron Legs, and a Drum Can Body. However, the Sonic Bomber was still able to damage the Ridepod, as Max hadn't upgraded it since he had first gotten it. The Flotsam Balloon inside the Sonic Bomber got dizzy and stopped, giving Max a chance to attack. Max swung the Ridepod's arms back and prepared to punch when the Sonic Bomber began spinning again. Max guarded.

"Oh, no," Max said. "If this keeps up, the Ridepod'll die on me! I need a faster way…" He looked around and saw a few rocks that were small enough to be picked up, but big enough to damage the Sonic Bomber around the area he, Monica, and Gokuu were fighting in. "Those should help!"

When the Flotsam Balloon got dizzy again and stopped, Max went to the nearest rock and kicked it. The rock hit the Flotsam Balloon in the face, knocking it out and leaving the Geostone unattended.

"Great!" Max went over to the Sonic Bomber. He jumped inside of it took the Geostone. Just then, the Sonic Bomber began spinning again. Everything around Max was a blur. He dropped the Geostone. Then, he felt a hard hit to his stomach. He stumbled backwards and stopped on the tip of the Sonic Bomber, close to falling off. He looked down and saw the Flotsam Balloon's head where his stomach had been. Max didn't know how the Flotsam Balloon had recovered so quickly, but he knew he had to keep the Geostone from being taken. He pulled out his Drill Wrench and Trumpet Gun as the Sonic Bomber stopped spinning.

The Flotsam Balloon charged at Max with its head lowered, about to headbutt Max again. Right before Max could react, the Sonic Bomber began to spin again. Max, unable to see anything but a blur, threw his hand out in every direction to catch the Flotsam Balloon before it headbutted him and sent him flying off the machine. He didn't hit anything, however, and when the machine stopped, he saw the Flotsam Balloon stumbling around, dizzy. Max was also dizzy; the forest was spinning. Max stumbled around, his hand that held his Drill Wrench outstretched, until he felt his wrench hit something. He saw a spinning Flotsam Balloon fall out of the machine into a spinning world, where it disintegrated. He had won.

Max held his head in his hands for a while. Then, when he was sure he wasn't dizzy anymore, he lifted his head and saw that the world had stopped spinning. The machine was now still. Max wondered how the Flotsam Balloon was able to control the machine without being at the controls, but he shrugged that thought off and picked up his reward—the Geostone.

* * *

Max, Monica, and Gokuu boarded the Carpenterion once more. Max tossed the Geostone into the reactor and then turned to the screen, awaiting the information.

"'Make withered tree appear...'" Monica read. "So far, all we have is a list of requirements. It's not telling us _how _to fulfill those requirements_._"

"You think we need to figure it out ourselves?" Max said.

"I don't think so. Let's just gather a few more Geostones and see how it turns out."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu disembarked and went towards Rainbow Butterfly Wood. While they were walking, Gokuu said, "Hey, does this really play like a trumpet?" He pointed to the Trumpet Gun Max had just pulled out and was carrying in his left hand.

"I dunno," Max said. "Why don't you try it?" He handed Gokuu the Trumpet Gun.

Gokuu pointed it to Max's ear, put his mouth on the mouthpiece, and blew. It made a loud screeching noise. After Gokuu stopped blowing, Max couldn't hear anything but loud ringing and began to rub the inside of his ear.

Gokuu grinned. "Yup, it works!"


	4. Immigrants

**Chapter Four: Immigrants**

Monica ran between Max and Gokuu as they went deeper into the forest. Then, she hit a wall and flinched, stumbling back. She opened her eyes and saw Max and Gokuu staring at her.

She slowly walked forward, holding her hand in front of her face. She touched something. Blue encompassed the area where her hand was.

"A Blue Seal, huh?" Max said, walking over to Monica. "You'll have to wait here, then."

"Alright! More fighting!" Gokuu wound his arm up.

"It shouldn't take long."

"Okay." Monica went over to a nearby log and sat on it. "I'll be waiting right here." She watched Max and Gokuu enter the sealed floor and, hating holding others back, wished she could go as well.

* * *

"You take care of that half," Max said, pointing to the right while he held a map in front of his face. Then, he pointed to the left. "I'll go that way."

Max ran in the opposite direction Gokuu was running. He defeated any monsters that he came across with a few swings of his wrench to the monsters' head. He also opened any treasure chests that he saw, getting some georama materials. He was frequently surprised when some of the treasure chests turned out to be Mimics. The Mimics got the upper hand and attacked him first until Max caught on to their pattern of biting him and killed them with his gun.

Then, he came to a roadblock.

It was a normal treasure chest. He clicked the lock open, but before he could open the lid, the treasure chest suddenly grew in size and became a giant mimic—the King Mimic.

* * *

Gokuu dodged the Pumpkinhead's bomb. However, Gokuu couldn't get out of exploding range of it in time. The bomb exploded and knocked him back into a tree. He slid down the trunk until he hit the ground, motionless.

The Pumpkinhead stood on one leg and spun its trident. It turned around and hopped away, happy that it had defeated Gokuu, someone even it knew was strong. After all, it had seen Gokuu sparring from time to time with other monsters in the forest, and Gokuu always won. The fact that a mere bomb defeated Gokuu was almost…awkward.

The Pumpkinhead stopped and turned around. Gokuu was still sitting where he had been when he was hit with the bomb. It went towards Gokuu, whose eyes were covered by his bangs. When it was about a foot away from Gokuu, it held out its trident and slowly pushed its trident towards Gokuu. Gokuu lifted his head and grabbed the trident in a split second.

"Gotcha!" Gokuu said. The Pumpkinhead, stunned, still held onto the trident tightly. Gokuu flipped over the trident and Pumpkinhead, letting the Pumpkinhead land hard headfirst into the ground. The Pumpkinhead's head smashed, pumpkin juice spraying everywhere, and the Pumpkinhead and trident disintegrated.

Gokuu flinched. He sat down and rubbed his eyes. Pumpkin juice had gotten in both of them.

When he had recovered, he stood up and continued into the forest. He came across a Face of Prajna.

"Hey, let's fight!" Gokuu said, getting into his battle stance.

The Face of Prajna responded by spewing poison goo at him. Gokuu jumped out of the way. He landed and grinned.

* * *

The King Mimic clapped its hand on Max. Max's insides almost got smashed by the impact. Then, the King Mimic licked Max, stunning him. The King Mimic clapped him again. It opened its hands wide, preparing another clap attack. Max backflipped away. He shot his gun, but it seemed to have no effect, as the King Mimic didn't show any signs of being in pain. Max couldn't get close to the King Mimic and fight it with his wrench; the King Mimic was too fast for him and could easily kill him with clap attacks. Max was going to lose this fight if he kept on going by himself, so he reached into his pouch and pressed a button.

The Ridepod rode up behind Max. When it stopped a few feet away from him, Max climbed into the machine and then put his hands on the controls.

Unfortunately, because Max neglected to improve the Ridepod's weapons, the King Mimic couldn't be defeated with a simple one-two punch. Instead, it took many more one-two punches. Luckily, the King Mimic was less than half the size of the Ridepod and couldn't guard the punches completely. It was down in a little more than a minute and left behind a Geostone.

Max picked up the Geostone. He sighed. The monsters were getting stronger and stronger. If he didn't upgrade the Ridepod soon, he would be in serious trouble when strong machine-type monsters appeared. He decided that as soon as he and Gokuu defeated all the monsters on this floor and acquired the Geostone, he would see Cedric and upgrade the Ridepod.

* * *

Gokuu, easily defeating the Face of Prajna and many other monsters with a rock-scissors-paper punch, continued walking in the forest. Soon, he came across Max, who was carrying a Geostone with both hands. Monica was walking alongside him.

"The Seal's gone, Gokuu," Monica said. "I think we can continue on to the next floor without going back to Sindain."

"I have to go back," Max said. "Cedric and I have to work on the Ridepod."

"Okay, Max. Let's go, Gokuu."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu went their separate ways.

* * *

"Hi, Cedric," Max said, walking up to Cedric, just having got back from Rainbow Butterfly Wood.

"Hey, Max," Cedric replied. "How's Steve?"

"He's a little weak right now. I need to give him an upgrade."

"Call Steve."

Max pressed the button that was in his pouch, and the Ridepod rode up and stopped beside him. Cedric stared at the Ridepod for a moment.

"Alright!" Cedric said. "Let's give 'er a boost!"

* * *

Monica and Gokuu continued deeper into the forest. They came across a fallen tree over a river, leading to the next floor. As soon as they went across, there was a Sonic Bomber blocking their way.

"Uh-oh…" Monica said. She looked at her sword and brassard. "Now what?"

"Let's just punch it a buncha times!" Gokuu ran up to the Sonic Bomber and punched its body. He released himself from it and went back next to Monica.

Monica looked at Gokuu. "Did it work?"

"Oww! Ow! Owww!" Gokuu said, shaking the hand he punched the machine with. "That hurt!"

Monica looked at the Sonic Bomber. There was no dent left where Gokuu punched it. The Flotsam Balloon that was inside the machine was snickering.

_That must be some pretty strong steel if Gokuu couldn't leave a mark, _Monica thought. _What do we do?_ _We can't run away because it might have the Geostone._

"The machine can't hurt us if we beat up the thing that's controlling it, right?" Gokuu said, referring to the Flotsam Balloon.

Monica's face brightened. "Yeah, you're right, Gokuu! Let's get it!"

Monica and Gokuu leapt towards both sides of the machine, Monica towards its right side, Gokuu towards its left. The machine punched them both in the face, knocking them back. Monica and Gokuu both landed on their feet.

"Damn it…!" Gokuu held his face with his hand and then took his hand off, revealing a round bruise in the middle of his face. There was blood trickling down his face. Monica had a bruise similar to Gokuu's on her face, and blood was dripping from her forehead.

"Gokuu, you distract the monster," Monica said. "I'll go behind it and, when I get a chance, get the monster that's controlling the machine. Got it?"

"Yeah!" Gokuu said, nodding. He pulled his left eyelid downward and stuck his tongue out. "Stupid machine! I betcha can't get me!"

A vein popped out of the Flotsam Balloon's forehead. The Sonic Bomber repeatedly tried to punch Gokuu, but Gokuu kept dodging its punches. Meanwhile, Monica ran behind the Sonic Bomber.

"You're real slow, machine!" Gokuu said. "I could dodge you all day!"

The Sonic Bomber continued to try, and fail, to punch Gokuu.

Monica stayed behind the Sonic Bomber until it got tired and stopped punching Gokuu for a few seconds. During these few seconds, Monica jumped into the machine. The Flotsam Balloon didn't notice, and Monica slashed its side with her sword. The wound showed up right away, and the Flotsam Balloon couldn't move. Monica slashed once more at its side. Another cut showed up and, along with the previous cut, formed an X. The Flotsam Balloon fell down and disintegrated.

"That was easy," Monica said. Her Long Sword now glowed blue. "And it looks like that monster gave just enough experience for my sword to level up." She synthesized a few crystals with the sword. After she finished, she sheathed her sword and saw the Geostone on the seat the Flotsam Balloon was sitting in. She picked it up and then called Gokuu. They left the forest.

* * *

Monica and Gokuu were inside the Carpenterion. The two Geostones had been recently placed in the reactor, and the information had just come up on the screen.

"'Someone who knows about trees…'" Monica read. She turned to Gokuu. "Do you know anyone like that?"

"Hmm…" Gokuu thought for a moment. "Nope!"

"Ah… Well, there's still Max."

Monica and Gokuu went back to Sindain Station. Max, Cedric, Borneo, and Erik were fixing the Ridepod, like they were doing when Monica and Gokuu had ran past them on their way to Sindain to call the Carpenterion earlier. Max was under the Ridepod, with only his legs sticking out, and Cedric was on a small ladder, hammering some part of the torso. Borneo and Erik were handing tools to Max and Cedric. Monica went over to Max's legs and bent down.

"Max…" she said.

Max started, hitting his head on the bottom of the Ridepod. He slid out from under the Ridepod, holding his head.

"Y-Yes, Monica…?" Max said.

"Sorry for disturbing you, but do you know anyone who knows about trees?"

"He's in our garden… Gordon… My house… In front… Palm Brinks… Ouch…"

"Thanks, Max. Gokuu and I will try to get him to immigrate here. According to the Geostone, he's needed for development of the future."

Max slid back under the Ridepod while Monica went over to Gokuu. After explaining everything to him, Monica and Gokuu boarded the train and began the journey to Palm Brinks.

* * *

Gordon watered the tree, hoping that it would get better soon. The tree had been getting progressively worse over the past three days. Regular water wasn't nursing it back to health, so he figured that only holy water would work. It would've been easy for him to just pick up holy water from Priest Bruno, but Priest Bruno and Gerald were on bad terms. If Gerald caught him buying holy water from Bruno, he could lose his job and place to live. Gordon didn't know what to do.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two people running up to him. He stopped watering the tree and looked at them. One of them was the girl Max had recently started hanging out with, and another was a boy he had never seen before—probably another one of Max's friends. Before he knew it, the girl was asking him if he could come with them to a place called Sindain to "restore the future" or something along those lines. This was the perfect opportunity for him to nurse the tree back to health. Gerald would never suspect a little girl and boy to be buying holy water to help a tree on the mansion's grounds, even if he did see them buying the holy water.

"First, I have a request," Gordon said. "You see, this tree is near death, and I need some holy water for it."

"Why don't you get some?" Gokuu said.

Gordon explained the situation between Bruno and Gerald.

Monica reached into her pouch. "I just remembered…" She pulled out a vial of holy water.

"Ah… Ah! That's it!" Gordon was overjoyed. No longer would the tree have to suffer. He took the holy water from her and poured it on the tree. The tree instantly looked a little healthier.

"So, now will you come with us?" Monica said.

"Yes! Thank you! Make sure my house has a lot of trees around it! I'll get my son to take care of the plants while I'm away. I'll be on the train." Gordon left Monica and Gokuu standing next to the tree. Monica could've sworn she saw Gordon skipping a little.

* * *

When Monica, Gokuu, and Gordon walked out of the train, the first thing they saw was the Ridepod, but it wasn't the same as before.

There was a barrel on the Ridepod's back that served as its new, improved energy pack. This energy pack allowed the Ridepod to last longer. But the Ridepod itself looked like a clown. The body looked clownish, the legs looked clownish, and the arms looked clownish.

Monica went over to Max, Cedric, Borneo, and Erik. The four men were looking over the Ridepod with pride, especially Max and Cedric.

"Uh, Max," she said, "_this _is an improvement?"

Max nodded. "Despite its looks, the Ridepod is stronger. I don't think any monster will take it seriously, but that only means I'll be able to take care of the monsters faster."

"Good point." She pointed to Gordon. "Anyway, we got Gordon to come with us."

Max waved at Gordon. Gordon waved back.

"Great," Max said. "That should help with the future."

Max left the Ridepod and, along with Monica, Gokuu, and Gordon, went into the town area of Sindain. They built a straw house and put many trees around it. Gordon thanked them and went into the house.

"There were a few other things that came up on the screen in the Carpenterion," Monica said. "We need to get Polly and Milane to come with us."

"Should be easy enough," Max said.

Max, Monica, and Gokuu boarded the train and went back to Palm Brinks. Monica confronted Milane while Max and Gokuu asked Polly.

* * *

Milane tossed the dagger in the air. It spun for a few seconds and then came back down and landed in her hand. Hardly any customers ever came to the weapon shop. Then again, who needed weapons? It was a peaceful town with no monsters or crime. Not even the police came to the weapon shop. Palm Brinks was one boring town, and she wished she could leave.

The door opened. A girl with long, red hair entered, came down the stairs, and went over to the counter, which Milane was standing behind. Max had introduced her a while back. Her name was Monica.

"Finally…" Milane said. "You're the first customer I've had all day! What do you need?"

"Well, actually, I need something from you," Monica said. "See--"

"Oh, really? I bet it can wait, whatever it is. I have something I want _you _to do."

Monica shook her head. "It can't wait. It really can't."

"Okay. What is it?"

Monica explained about how the future was in ruins because of a monster named Griffon and that Milane was needed for the future to be restored in some place called Sindain.

"Huh," Milane said, raising an eyebrow. Then, she put her elbows on the countertop and propped her head on her hands. "You just made my request ten times harder."

Monica groaned.

"I've heard you're good with a sword." Milane turned around, picked up a short sword, and handed it to Monica. "That's the Gladius. Build it up twice, and I'll consider living in this new place. And that was all I was going to ask you to do…before you told me about this whole fairy tale."

Milane looked into her dagger. She saw her reflection. "What you just told me is kinda far-fetched. I'm not sure I can believe you. Why don't you prove it by taking me with you on your adventure for a while? Show me the outside world."

"Hold on, you're going to watch me while I build up the Gladius?" Monica said.

"Yup. Something wrong with that?"

"No, not at all…"

Though Monica said that, Milane saw a bit of disappointment and anger in her eyes.

"So, I'll take you to Sindain and prove to you that the future's in trouble," Monica said.

Milane nodded. This was gonna be exciting.


	5. Training

**Chapter Five: Training**

"This is Rainbow Butterfly Wood," Monica said as she and Milane entered the dungeon. It was the floor where Monica and Gokuu had encountered the Sonic Bomber.

Milane looked around curiously. She had been in Palm Brinks for as long as she could remember; she had never been in a forest before.

"Be vigilant," Monica said, drawing her sword. "You never know when a monster can come at you."

"Yeah, I know." Milane unhooked her dagger from her waist belt. She actually didn't know there were monsters in the outside world, but she hated taking advice from a kid.

Monica suddenly stopped. Milane stopped behind her.

There was a floating, orange head with orange hands at its sides floating around. It seemed to have nowhere to go or anything to do.

"That must be a monster," Milane said. "I'm watching you, Monica."

Monica rolled her eyes. "I know."

She charged at the floating head, the Fire Element. The Fire Element sensed Monica coming, turned in her direction, and launched a fireball. Monica rolled to her left side, the fireball landing a ways away. She then jumped towards the Fire Element. As she was in the air going towards the monster, she unsheathed the Gladius. When she got close enough, she slashed it down the middle. The Fire Element's two halves fell on the ground and disintegrated as the Gladius began to glow blue.

Milane went up to Monica while Monica synthesized some crystals with the sword.

"That monster didn't even fight back," she said. "You can't show me your real power if you don't get a worthy opponent. Or was _that _your real power?"

Monica growled.

"Getting a little upset there, are we?"

Monica was silent. She led the way deeper into the dungeon.

Monica and Milane covered their ears as an ear-piercing scream echoed through the forest. When the screaming ceased, they turned towards the direction the scream had come from. It was a Gyumo. It was on all fours, preparing its charge.

"Uh-oh," Monica said. "Watch out! It's about to tackle us! Get back!"

"I think I'll just stay right here," Milane said, crossing her arms.

Monica glared at Milane. "Are you _trying _to get hurt?!" She was thrown back by the Gyumo's head. She rolled on the ground for a few seconds and then skidded to a stop.

"Pay attention next time," Milane said.

_She's worse than annoying little kids, _Monica thought as she stood up. She looked at the Gyumo. The Gyumo was still on all fours. _This beast shouldn't be too hard to take care of. _

Monica jumped in the air and then came back down, swordfirst, on the Gyumo. The Gyumo roared, the sword stuck in its backside. Monica, standing on the Gyumo's back, instinctively let go of her sword and covered her ears. The Gyumo's roar died out as it fell down and began to disintegrate, Monica landing on her feet as the Gyumo disappeared. She pulled out the Gladius, which had begun to glow blue. Monica then proceeded to synthesize crystals with the Gladius.

_Not too bad… _Milane thought, scratching her chin. _She's pretty darn good. _"I want to see a little more!"

Monica looked at Milane from the corner of her eye. _She's starting to respect me._ _The Gladius is leveling up real fast, too, which is great._ "Okay, follow me!"

Milane followed Monica deeper into the forest.

* * *

"So, all we have to do is deliver these loaves of crunchy bread to Morton?" Max said. He had a bag of twenty loaves of crunchy bread in his right hand.

"Yup, that's all you have to do," Polly replied. "Come back when you finish, and I'll go with you."

Max and Gokuu left the bakery and went next door to Morton's item shop.

"Welcome, Max," Morton said as Max and Gokuu walked up to him, "and…uh…" Morton was looking at Gokuu now.

"Son Gokuu!" Gokuu said.

"Son Gokuu! Welcome!"

Max placed the bag of bread on the counter. "Here are the twenty loaves of bread you asked for."

"Oh, Polly asked you two to deliver them. Sorry, but I didn't want them delivered here: I wanted them delivered at my house."

"Okay! Let's go!" Gokuu took the bag and ran out the door, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Max and Morton stared after him. A few seconds later, Gokuu came back, saying, "Oh, yeah… I just remembered… I dunno where your house is!"

"Th-The house with the pumpkins…" Morton said, shaken by Gokuu's enthusiasm and running speed.

"Okay! Now let's go!" Gokuu ran out the door, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Max and Morton stared after him.

A few moments later, Morton asked, "Aren't you going to go with him, Max?"

Max shrugged. "There's no way I can keep up with him."

* * *

As Milane and Monica continued to run through the forest, a silver snake's head came out from underneath them, throwing them off balance. They both fell on the ground a few feet away from the snake as the snake still emerged from the ground. Once its full body was exposed, the legendary Killer Snake glared at them and hissed.

Monica readied herself while Milane smiled, looking forward to the upcoming battle.

Monica lunged at the snake. She slashed at its head with the Gladius but, before the Gladius could reach the snake's head, the snake plunged into the ground. Before the snake's body was completely in the soil, however, the Gladius caught the tip of its tail, cutting its tail off. The snake was now submerged in the soil, but its hiss could be heard on the surface as the tip of its tail flew through the air, blood following it. The tail tip landed near Milane. Milane looked at it, her smile becoming broader.

"Run around!" Monica said, running past Milane. "We don't know when or where that snake'll come up, so run in random directions!"

Milane did as she was told. She and Monica ran around the area until the snake emerged from the ground a few inches away from Monica. Monica took the initiative and jumped in the air. She landed at the side of the snake and slashed its side, leaving behind a deep gash. The snake hissed once again and then went back into the earth. Milane and Monica began running again.

The snake emerged, catching Milane's stomach with its head. Milane flew diagonally in the air until she fell on a tree branch. She stood up on the tree branch and hugged herself, as her stomach was aching, while looking at Monica. "Don't worry about me! I'm safe! That snake can't get me anymore, and I'm not in your way, so I'm not holding you back! Go all out!"

Monica nodded. The snake, which was standing on the tip of its partly-cut-off tail, saw a flash of red as the Gladius plunged through its stomach. Milane stared, wide-eyed, at the sword which came through one side of the snake and out the other. Monica took the Gladius out of the snake. The snake was stunned, blood pouring out of both sides of its stomach like a fountain. Before the snake could recover, Monica cut off its head. The snake's head, with the color draining from its eyes, rolled on the ground with blood trailing it until bumping into a nearby tree trunk. The snake's body fell on the ground.

Milane leapt from the tree branch and landed near the snake's body. She tapped the snake's body lightly. She got wide-eyed again. She stood where she was, with her eyes as well as her fist on the snake's body.

"What's wrong?" Monica asked.

"W-Well, this snake's body is really tough," Milane said, "and you sliced right through it like it was nothing… You're very strong and good at using swords."

"Thank you," Monica said as the Gladius began to glow green. She built it up to a Cliff Knife. "Now all I have to do is build it up one more time, and you'll come with me."

"Forget that part of the deal," Milane said. "You've pretty much proved yourself with that battle."

"So you'll come with us?!"

"No, not yet." Milane unhooked her dagger. "I want you to fight me."

Monica looked at the dagger. "Are you sure? I mean, you won't be able to defend yourself well with that dagger…"

"Fine, then." Milane turned around to leave. "I just won't come with you."

Monica put the Cliff Knife away and took out her Long Sword. She took a battle stance. "Alright, let's fight!"

* * *

"Man, what a workout!" Gokuu stretched. He placed the bag of crunchy bread on Morton's counter.

Max looked at Gokuu. "Gokuu, you were supposed to deliver the bread to Morton's house. Did you go to the house with the pumpkins?"

"Yeah, but there was a message from some guy named Fer-din-and saying that the party was cancelled because of something about cheese. I guessed that this bread was for the party and came back here."

"Oh, okay," Morton said. "Thanks anyway. You can go ahead and take that bread back to Polly."

Max and Gokuu left Morton's shop and went to the bakery. Gokuu explained what had happened.

"Sorry for all that trouble," Polly said. "As compensation, take that crunchy bread. And I'll come with you."

"Alright, another immigrant!" Max said as Gokuu said, "Alright, food!"

* * *

Milane's dagger clashed against Monica's Long Sword. Before Monica could knock the dagger out of Milane's hand, Milane separated.

_She's pretty good with that dagger, _Monica thought. _I never expected her dagger to be able to hold its own against my Long Sword. She's also staying on the offensive, so I don't get a chance to attack and make her guard. Guarding won't work for her since she has such a small weapon._

Milane lunged at Monica, the tip of her dagger sticking out towards Monica. Monica dodged Milane. Milane lunged at Monica again. Monica dodged again.

_I have to find a chance to attack her somehow, _Monica thought as she dodged Milane again, _or else this will never end._

Monica dodged Milane once more. Milane stood where she was for a split second before lunging towards Monica again. Monica dodged.

_I see it! _Monica thought. _A chance!_

Monica lunged at Milane while Milane stood where she had landed. Milane instinctively put up her dagger and guarded. Monica used her sword to knock Milane's dagger out of her hand. Then, she put her sword up to Milane's neck.

Milane stared at the sword for a minute, her expression calm. Then, she smiled and looked at Monica. "I lose. Good job. I'll come with you."

Monica put her sword down. _That was easier than the fight against the snake—shorter, too. _

"Listen, I'll get a sword," Milane said, "and we can fight again one day. I'll be training hard, so don't you let up."

Monica nodded. "Right."

"It looks like that fairy tale you told me about is true. You wouldn't have come from the future if the present wasn't in danger, right? You wouldn't be fighting against these monsters this hard, either. And so, I have one more request."

Monica slouched, but held her groan in and tried her best to keep a straight face. However, Milane saw Monica's face flash an expression of annoyance.

"Don't want to do it?" Milane said.

"U-Um…"

"It's really easy. You'll be able to do it, no problem."

"What is it?"

"Tear Griffon apart!"

Monica straightened up. "Yeah, I will! Definitely!"

* * *

"So this is what the outside world looks like…" Polly said as she stepped outside the train. "What a big place…"

"Yeah, I know," Max said. "It's amazing! Anyway, what would you like your house to have?"

"Make it wooden, please, with a cart."

"Uh, make that _two _wooden houses."

Max, Polly, and Gokuu looked in the direction that the voice that had sounded like Milane's had come from. Milane and Monica were coming out of Rainbow Butterfly Wood.

"Monica!" Max said. "You got Milane, huh?"

"Yeah!" Monica replied. "I'll go get the supplies."

"Gokuu and I will call the Carpenterion," Max said.

"Yeah!" Gokuu said. He and Max went into the town area of Sindain. Milane and Polly looked at each other for a moment and then followed them into Sindain.

* * *

After Milane and Polly were settled in their houses, Max, Monica, and Gokuu took a rest inside the train.

"Guys, I've been getting a bit worried about the Dragonballs lately," Monica said. "I know that as long as we have one, we'll be okay, but what if there are seven Dragonballs in the future and Griffon has them all?"

"There's no way we can tell," Max said, "unless we go to the future."

"But I don't think anyone in the future—maybe except Jurak—knows about the Dragonballs. After all, this is the first I've heard of them. Maybe Griffon doesn't know about them, either. If he does have the Dragonballs, then why doesn't he use them?"

"If we're worried about the Dragonballs," Gokuu said, "let's go to Buruma's and get the Dragon Radar! Then, we can collect all of them and make a wish before Griffon!"

"That's the best thing we can do," Monica said. "Gokuu, where does Buruma live?"

"Um…" Gokuu thought for a moment. "That way!" He pointed to his left. "It's a city!"

Monica looked in the direction Gokuu was pointing at. "To the west…"

"But if Griffon destroyed the world fifteen years ago," Max said, "wouldn't the city no longer exist?"

"But I went to Buruma's place less than fifteen years ago!" Gokuu said.

"Maybe Griffon left it intact because Buruma has the Dragon Radar!" Monica said. "That means he already knows about the Dragonballs! We have to hurry!"

"Alright! Let's go!" Max hopped off his seat. He went in the conductor's area. A few minutes later, the train began to move.

Gokuu stood on his seat and looked out his window. "Alright! To Buruma's place!"


	6. Buruma's

**Chapter Six: Buruma's**

The city came into view, and the train began to slow down. Max, Monica, and Gokuu prepared to get off. Once the train stopped, they disembarked.

The station was busy: people went through security, people stood on platforms and waited for their trains, and procrastinators waited in the long line for tickets.

Max looked around. He didn't know a place so crowded and lively existed.

"Gokuu, can you lead us to Buruma's house?" Monica asked.

"Yeah, I think I remember where it is," Gokuu replied. "Follow me!"

Max, Monica, and Gokuu left the station. Gokuu stopped and looked around. Then, he continued straight. They ran past breakdancers, people selling stolen goods, and stand-up comedians.

Max was interested the whole time. The city was bustling with activity, and some buildings stretched upwards for miles on end. He had even seen a school on their way to Buruma's, something he had never seen or been to before. He wondered what school was like: was it fun? Boring?

After a while, they arrived at a broken-down house that was once shaped like a capsule. Now, it was a semicircle, and giant holes were in what remained of the roof.

"This should be Buruma's place," Gokuu said, "but her house wasn't like this the last time I came here."

"That's really strange," Monica said, looking around, "especially since the houses around hers are in perfect condition."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu entered Buruma's house, as the door was missing. Everything was broken: lamps, tables, shelves, everything.

"Buruma!" Gokuu yelled. "It's me, Gokuu! Are you here?!"

Buruma's head poked out of the doorway of the other room. "Son-kun!"

* * *

Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Buruma sat on chairs that had somehow survived whatever had come and torn up Buruma's house. The sun beat down on them, as they were sitting in the area where holes were in the roof. Max and Monica introduced themselves, and then Monica told Buruma about Griffon and how the world was in danger.

"We want the Dragonballs so we can wish for Griffon to disappear," she finished. "Do you have the Dragon Radar?"

Buruma sighed. "Last week, some monsters came and raided our house. My family and I escaped before they could catch us but, as we were running away, I heard one of them say, '…Dragon Radar...' under its breath. I didn't bring the Dragon Radar with me. That's what they were looking for, because when my family and I searched the house the following day, the Dragon Radar was nowhere to be found."

"Do you think they took it back to the future?" Max said.

"Who knows?" Monica said. "Again, there's no way of telling… Well, what did these monsters look like?" She suspected that these were the same monsters that had come into her castle that night and kept her from saving her father from Gaspard.

"It had a red mask on and red daggers for hands. It's kind of indescribable."

"Those were Griffon's soldiers! Max, Gokuu, you've never seen them before, but they invaded my castle one night. Griffon _does _know about the Dragonballs!"

"So we have to find Griffon as soon as possible and beat him up, right?" Gokuu said.

"I wish we could," Monica said, "but something tells me there's gonna be a lot more than simply going in the future and defeating him."

"What should we do, then?" Max said.

"We should go back to Sindain and find out more about Griffon. It's impossible to find six of those Dragonballs right now."

A Griffon Soldier jumped through one of the many broken windows and landed inside near Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Buruma.

"…Dragonball…" it said. "Give me…the Dragonball…"

"The Dragonball inside my pouch…" Max whispered.

"That's Grandpa's Dragonball!" Gokuu said. "We're not giving it to you!"

Several more Griffon Soldiers entered the house by coming through the holes in the ceiling, running through the doorway, or jumping through already broken windows. Soon, Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Buruma were surrounded.

Buruma screamed. "Keep those things away from me!"

Max took out his Drill Wrench and Trumpet Gun. Monica unsheathed her Long Sword, her Magic Brassard on her arm, as always. Gokuu pulled out his Nyoi-bo.

"Nyoi-bo, extend!" Gokuu commanded. The Nyoi-bo extended, hitting a Griffon Soldier in the face and knocking it down into another soldier. Max, Monica, and Buruma ducked when Gokuu began to spin, swinging the Nyoi-bo, knocking most of the Griffon Soldiers down like bowling pins. He stopped spinning when most of the Griffon Soldiers were downed.

Max hit one of the remaining Griffon Soldiers on the head. A few other Griffon Soldiers latched onto him and held him, not allowing him to move. One of the Griffon Soldiers put its dagger-like hand up to his neck. Max looked to Monica and Gokuu for help, but Monica and Gokuu were busy fighting other Griffon Soldiers.

Max charged his energy as if he were going to do a charge attack. Then, he used that energy to break free of the Griffon Soldiers, knocking all of them some feet away. Monica and Gokuu, finished with the Griffon Soldiers they were fighting before, immediately went over to the knocked down Griffon Soldiers and, before the Griffon Soldiers could recover, killed as many as they could, Monica stabbing them with her sword, Gokuu punching and kicking them. Max also engaged, crushing the Griffon Soldiers' faces with his wrench. They soon finished.

"Crap, I just remembered!" Buruma said. "My mom and dad are upstairs! What if they were attacked, too?!"

* * *

"Would you like to tell me anything before we die, dear?" Buruma's mother asked, smiling as she always was. She and her husband were in a corner, surrounded by Griffon Soldiers.

Buruma's father thought about the pornography magazines he had. "No, nothing. Except, I love you."

"Aww, I love you, too."

A Griffon Soldier walked up to them and said, "…Dragonball…"

"Dragonball?" Buruma's father said. "I think that's the thing Buruma was talking about that one time…"

The Griffon Soldier put up its dagger-like hand, about to slice the husband and wife's heads off.

"Bo, extend!"

A cypress stick came through the army, knocking all of the soldiers except one against the wall. The Griffon Soldier that was about to cut Buruma's mother and father's heads off, the only remaining soldier, looked back.

Max, Monica, and Gokuu stood in front of the soldier. Monica now had a Bastard Sword and a Gold Brassard.

Max lunged at the Griffon Soldier. He hit it in its stomach, and it doubled over in pain. Max hit its jaw. The Griffon Soldier fell down, unconscious. Monica went over to the soldier and stabbed it, killing it.

"Thank you for saving us," Buruma's mother said, "and welcome back, Gokuu."

"Yo!" Gokuu said.

Max and Monica introduced themselves.

"So you two were the other voices we heard downstairs," Buruma's mother said. "Make yourself at home."

Buruma came upstairs. She looked around, seeing dozens of Griffon Soldiers piled against a wall and a dead Griffon Soldier next to her parents.

"Great!" Buruma said. "You're safe!"

Buruma's father came up to her and then nudged her. "Buruma, have you and Gokuu gotten together yet?"

"Dad, don't start with that, not now…"

"Gokuu, are you and Buruma engaged to be married?"

"Nope, but I wish we were!" Gokuu replied.

"Son-kun!" Buruma yelled. She was red with anger and her teeth were fanglike.

Gokuu turned to Monica. "Isn't 'married' some kind of food?"

"You're joking, aren't you?" Monica said.

"Nice, nice!" Buruma's father walked up to Max and put his arm around him. "And what about this young man here?"

"We just met each other today," Max said.

"That's right!" Buruma said.

"Any chemistry yet?" Buruma's father said.

"Dad!" Buruma yelled in her father's face.

"I guess this means there's something going on, eh…?"

Buruma went into the corner. She put both hands on the wall, her head down. "I hate my family. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I hate them…"

Gokuu tugged Buruma's shirt. Buruma quickly looked at him, her teeth that were now fangs grinded together, her eyes big, and her face red.

"We're getting ready to go, Buruma," he said.

Buruma took a deep breath. "Okay, Son-kun. Monica, Max, take care. If there's any way I can help, come back over here, and I'll do the best I can."

"Bye, Buruma!" Max said, waving.

"Bye!" Monica waved as well. "We'll see you soon!"

"Yeah!" Gokuu said. "See ya!"

When Max, Monica, and Gokuu had left, Buruma said, under her breath, "If possible, I'd like to get away from here…"

* * *

Max, Monica, and Gokuu were in the town area of Sindain, admiring their work. There was a river surrounding two eye trees. In the middle of the eye trees was a nose tree. Gordon's house was surrounded by trees, Polly, Milane, and the Firbits' houses close by.

"This place has come out pretty good," Max said.

"Yeah," Monica said. "We did a good job, if I may say so myself."

"What's that?" Gokuu said, pointing ahead.

Max and Monica looked in the direction Gokuu was pointing. There was a red, glowing ball inside a circle. Below the circle was another glowing red circle, but on the ground.

"That's a time gate," Monica said. "I used one to come here, to the present. Now we can go to the future. Jurak should be revived by now."

"We'll go ask him about Griffon and the Dragonballs now, right?" Max asked.

"That's our goal. Now, Max, you need to use your Red Atlamillia so we can go 100 years into the future."

"So, what exactly do I do?"

"Stand in the middle of the time gate and hold your Atlamillia up. Gokuu and I will stand just outside the time gate, and we'll be taken, too."

Max went inside the time gate while Monica and Gokuu stood just outside it. He presented his Atlamillia by taking his arms away from his sides and pushing his body out, letting the Atlamillia shine in the sunlight. Soon, the Atlamillia began to glow red, and everything went white.


	7. Resurrection of the Great Elder

**Chapter Seven: Resurrection of the Great Elder**

When the blinding light disappeared, Max, Monica, and Gokuu found themselves in Sindain, but more vibrant and with Firbits walking around. Sindain also featured a burger shop at the very top of a giant tree. That tree had its eyes fixed on the trio and a nose big enough for someone to live inside the nostrils.

Jurak had been resurrected.

"That's Jurak," Monica said. She began to walk towards the giant tree. Max and Gokuu looked at each other and then followed her.

"Oh…" Jurak said. "Hello…" He talked slowly, drawing his words out.

"Hi, Jurak," Monica said as she, Max, and Gokuu stopped in front of him. "We were wondering… All of your ancestors' memories have been passed down your generations, so we would like to know about Griffon, the monster terrorizing this world."

Jurak was silent for a long time. Max, Monica, and Gokuu stared at him intently. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't remember anything…"

Max and Monica groaned.

"Then, Master Jurak," Max said, "do you know about the Rainbow Butterfly?"

"Hmm…" Jurak said. "Rainbow Butterfly… I have something that can help you attract it…" He wiggled his nose. Suddenly, green smoke puffed out of it. A seed floated down into Max's hands.

"What's this?" Max said.

"A Lafrescia seed… You have to plant it somewhere in particular…"

"Where?"

"I don't remember… You'll have to figure that out yourselves… Once you plant that, a bud will sprout… In order to get the bud to grow faster, you'll need sundrops… You'll have to ask a Himarra to get it…"

Max held his head in his chin. "Ask a Himarra… Ask a monster?" He took his head away from his chin and looked at Gokuu. "Gokuu, you can do that, right?"

"Yeah!" Gokuu said.

"Okay, that's solved," Monica said.

Gokuu reached inside Max's pouch and took out the Dragonball. He held it up for Jurak to see. "Hey, have you ever seen this before?"

Jurak stared at the Dragonball for a long time. He dug deep into the memories of his ancestors, trying to find the origins of the strange orange ball decorated with stars that the boy held in his hand. He finally said, "I'm sorry… I can't remember… I've just woken up and am half-asleep right now, so you'll have to come back later when I'm fully awake… Maybe I will be able to remember something then…"

"Gokuu, you go to the first floor and ask a Himarra for the sundrops," Monica said. "Max and I will go to the floor we left off on and get the Geostone there."

"The first floor…" Gokuu said. "That's the place with the waterfall, right?"

"No, opposite that. The place where we first met, remember?"

"Oh, yeah! That place! Gotcha!"

"After we complete those tasks, we'll come back here and see if Jurak remembers anything. Now, to return to the present, I have to stand inside the time gate. Max, Gokuu, you two stand just outside of it."

Max and Gokuu did as they were told as Monica entered the time gate. She held up her wrist, presenting her Blue Atlamillia. Her Atlamillia began to shine blue and, once again, everything went white.

* * *

Max and Monica arrived where they had left off in Rainbow Butterfly Wood.

"This is where Milane and I fought," Monica said as she and Max ran through the forest. "It's how I got her to come with us. There are a few remaining monsters, though, so be careful."

"Okay," Max said.

They ran past an empty Sonic Bomber in a sitting down position. Monica stopped a few feet away from the Sonic Bomber. Max stopped beside her.

"We had quite a bit of trouble with that the last time we were here," Monica said. "We had to defeat the monster inside who was controlling it to get it to stop. It should be harmless now."

The Sonic Bomber began making a loud humming noise. It stood up and turned toward Max and Monica.

"Wh-What?" Monica said, her eyes full of disbelief. "I-I thought we…"

The Sonic Bomber emitted sonic booms from the funnels it had for arms. Max and Monica dodged in opposite directions from each other.

"I thought you defeated that thing!" Max yelled.

"Apparently not!" Monica yelled back. "It's almost like it has a mind of its own!"

"Maybe it doesn't need to be controlled by someone to work," Max said to himself. "I wonder if the Ridepod…" He pressed the button in his pouch. The Ridepod rode up behind him. Max backflipped into the seat. "Ah, well. I don't want to risk damaging the Ridepod just to find out if it can work without me controlling it. I'll ask Cedric later. Now it's time to find out just how strong the Ridepod is!"

The Ridepod ran up to the Sonic Bomber and gave it a one-two punch with a finisher at the end. The Sonic Bomber was destroyed after the Ridepod's finisher. Inside the Sonic Bomber was a Geostone. Max jumped into the Sonic Bomber, took it, and jumped back into the Ridepod. He sat down.

Monica walked over to the Ridepod and looked up at Max. "That was quick. The Ridepod's pretty strong now."

"Yeah!" Max said. "I think I'll stay inside of it for a bit longer. Wanna hop inside?"

"Sure." Monica climbed into the Ridepod. She stood behind the seat Max was sitting in and grabbed it to keep her balance.

They headed deeper into the forest. It wasn't long until they came across another monster.

* * *

"Alright, a Himarra," Gokuu said. He was walking, looking around for that familiar flower creature. "It's that flower, I think… Which flower is it? Is it the tulip, or the sunflower? Hmm…"

He saw a Man-eating Plant. He wasn't sure if it was the Himarra or not, so he walked up to it.

"Hey, are you a Himarra?" Gokuu asked.

"No, I'm not…" the Man-eating Plant said. "Don't get me confused with that ugly flower." It spat poison goo to Gokuu's left.

"Oh, okay. See ya!" Gokuu walked off, leaving the Man-eating Plant planted in the same spot it was always in.

Gokuu saw a Himarra as he was walking. He stopped. "Okay, I'm sure that's the Himarra this time!" He ran up to the sunflower-like monster. "Are you a Himarra?"

"Yes, I am," the Himarra said.

"Can I have some sundrops?"

"Coming up to me, asking just like that… How rude!"

"Oh, yeah. Kamesennin said I have to be polite and use manners and stuff. I forgot about all that. Thanks for reminding me!" Gokuu bowed. "Excuse me, Miss Himarra, but may I please have some sundrops?"

"Well, since you asked so politely…I'll have you do just a teensy favor for it!"

Gokuu rose to his full height. "What is it?"

"Those Man-eating Plants… Bah!" The Himarra spat sticky goo to Gokuu's right. "Those ugly flowers! They don't even deserve to be called flowers!" It spat to Gokuu's right again.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because…the Man-eating Plants and Himarras are going to have a war to determine who's the best flower in a few minutes! Those Man-eating Plants can't move, so us Himarras are at an advantage. Us Himarras hate getting dirty, but we'll gladly get dirty to defeat those ugly plants!" The Himarra spat to Gokuu's right.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?"

"No, 'cause you haven't told me yet."

"Us Himarras have seen your power. We've talked about you for a long time, and we'd like you to join us in this war we're having. I think the Skeleton Soldiers are moving the Man-eating Plants and helping them get in formation. Those Skeleton Soldiers are just standing out and watching. Help us, Son Gokuu! Meet us at the clearing where the small lake is!" The Himarra ran off, leaving Gokuu standing by himself.

Gokuu grinned. "Alright, a fight! I can't wait!" He ran towards the direction the Himarra went in. He ran past another Man-eating Plant.

"Stop right there!"

Gokuu stopped. He walked over to the Man-eating Plant that had called him.

"Huh?" Gokuu said. "I thought you guys were supposed to be fighting. Why aren't you there?"

"Those Skeleton Soldiers haven't come and picked me up yet. Damn immobility!"

"If you want, I could take you there."

"That'd be great! One more Man-eating Plant to take down those Himarras!"

Gokuu uprooted the Man-eating Plant. He began running towards the clearing the Himarra had spoken of.

"The Man-eating Plants have been watching you for a long time, Son Gokuu," the Man-eating Plant said, "and we'd be honored to have you join us. Since you're helping me get to the war area, that means you're not allied with those girly, prissy, ugly Himarras!" The Man-eating Plant spat to Gokuu's left. "That means you're on the Man-eating Plants' team!"

"I didn't agree to that."

"You _indirectly _agreed by taking me to the war site."

"But I didn't agree to that."

"Son Gokuu, you're on the Man-eating Plants' team. We'll win for sure!"

"But I'm already–"

War cries from the Himarras and Man-eating Plants echoed throughout the forest. Gokuu and the Man-eating Plant he was carrying had arrived at the war site.

The Man-eating Plants were in a V-formation, while the Himarras, not needing a formation because of their mobility, were in a straight line encompassing the length of the river in front of them.

"Where do you want me to put you down?" Gokuu asked.

"The others are waiting for me," the Man-eating Plant said. It pointed with one of its roots to a spot at the end of the V-formation. "See that empty spot over there? Plant me right there."

Gokuu began running over to the spot. As he was running, a Himarra called out, "Son Gokuu! What're you doing?! You're supposed to be on our team!"

Gokuu froze.

* * *

The Sonic Bomber stood in front of Max and Monica. It didn't move but stared at them.

"Is it gonna fight, or…?" Monica said.

"Should I take the initiative and attack," Max said, "or wait?"

The Flotsam Balloon inside the Sonic Bomber went to the edge of its machine and bowed. Then, it sat back down at the controls and ran behind the Ridepod.

"Could it be…?" Max made the Ridepod run forward. The Sonic Bomber ran forward as well, staying behind him. Then, Max ran around in circles. The Sonic Bomber also ran in circles, still following Max.

"It's…following you," Monica said. "Why?"

Max shrugged as he stopped the Ridepod, the Sonic Bomber also stopping. He studied the Sonic Bomber and Flotsam Balloon closely. The Ridepod had clown parts on, and the Flotsam Balloon was a clown. Since Flotsam had disappeared, these Flotsam Balloons had no one to lead them, so they turned to the next best thing: a machine that looked like a clown.

"I think I figured it out," Max said. "They're obeying me because they need a new leader! I'm sure that when I change the parts on the Ridepod again, they'll stop obeying me."

"We can use this to our advantage!" Monica said. "If those machine monsters keep following you, we'll have an easier time defeating the monsters here!"

"Yeah… Let's go!"

Max, Monica, and the Sonic Bomber ran deeper into the forest.

* * *

One of the Himarras stepped forward. "Are you planning to throw that Man-eating Plant you're carrying into the rest of the Man-eating Plants, Son Gokuu?"

"No," Gokuu said. He pointed to the empty spot in the Man-eating Plants' V-formation. "I was gonna put it over there."

The Man-eating Plant Gokuu was carrying coughed. "I…I can't breathe…" It wheezed.

Gokuu went over to the empty spot and quickly planted the Man-eating Plant.

"He saved it…" a Himarra said.

Another Himarra began walking towards Gokuu. "Whose side are you on?"

"Well, I said yes to you guys first…" Gokuu said, looking at the Himarra. He turned to the Man-eating Plants. "But then I helped one of these guys after it told me to take it here…" Gokuu grinned. "I'm on _both _of your sides, I guess!"

There was an uproar from both sides.

"That's not possible!"

"You can't do that!"

"Whose side are you on, Son Gokuu?!"

A Skeleton Soldier came up to Gokuu. "Now they're all mad. What will you do now?"

Gokuu shrugged. "I dunno. Do you know what I should do?"

A Himarra ran up to Gokuu and the Skeleton Soldier while a Man-eating Plant spewed poison goo at them. Gokuu and the Skeleton Soldier struck the Himarra and the Man-eating Plant's goo respectively, Gokuu with his fist and the Skeleton Soldier with its sword. The Himarra disintegrated as the poison goo splashed on the Skeleton Soldier's sword, making the sword drip with goo.

"So you were in alliance with the Skeleton Soldiers, a neutral party, all this time, Son Gokuu?!" a Man-eating Plant said.

"No," Gokuu said.

"Stop lying!" a Himarra yelled. "You lied to both us Himarras _and _Man-eating Plants! We may not be able to defeat you individually, but we can defeat you together!"

"Good luck," the Skeleton Soldier that was next to Gokuu said. "If you're smart, you'll run away and deal with them later, like me and the other Skeleton Soldiers will do now." The Skeleton Soldier leapt to its group of other Skeleton Soldiers. The Skeleton Soldiers ran away.

"Alright!" Gokuu said, wounding his arm up as the Himarras charged at him. "That just makes this a lot more fun!"

The Himarras latched onto Gokuu, pushing him to the ground. There were so many on Gokuu—it had to be the entire army—that he couldn't move, even with his immense strength.

"Get him now!" one of the Himarras shouted.

The Man-eating Plants spewed poison goo at Gokuu, the Himarras moving aside so it would hit him. The goo hit Gokuu in his face, blinding and poisoning him. The barrage of poison goo never took a break. Gokuu's whole body was in pain, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Suddenly, the Man-eating Plants stopped launching poison goo. The Himarras released him. Gokuu heard the Himarras begin running away while saying, "Get them!", "Where did they come from?!", and "Allies of Son Gokuu's?!"

There were noises from machines that sounded strangely familiar, but Gokuu couldn't put his finger on exactly what they were.

"Gokuu!"

"Huh?" Gokuu said. "Monica? Is that you? I can't see right now."

"Yes, it's me. Open your mouth. I'm giving you an antidote."

Gokuu opened his mouth. What tasted like juice was poured in his mouth.

"Wow, this stuff works!" Gokuu said as his body began to not hurt and he began to be able to see. Once Gokuu's eyesight had returned and his body was in perfect condition, albeit a few scratches, he stood up and looked around. Max and some Sonic Bombers were fighting off Himarras. All of the Man-eating Plants were dead and disintegrated. Most of the Himarras were dead as well, as only a few remained, and those few that remained weren't giving up.

Gokuu ran towards the remaining Himarras. "Alright, I'll fight, too!"

Monica followed him, withdrawing her Bastard Sword.

In a matter of seconds, all Himarras but one were defeated, as the Himarras were severely outnumbered and overpowered by the machines, Monica, and Gokuu.

Gokuu punched the last Himarra in its gut. It fell to the ground and began to dissolve. As its eye rolled back and it faded away, it said, "You haven't seen the last of me…or any other of the Himarras… We _will _return." Then, it disappeared completely, leaving behind sundrops.

Gokuu stared at the spot the Himarra had disintegrated in. "Huh?"

"Gokuu! You're alright, aren't you?"

Gokuu turned to Max. "Yeah, I'm fine! How'd you know I needed help, though?"

"We knew it wasn't gonna take long for someone like you to complete this task," Monica said as she picked up the sundrops, "so when you didn't return after a long time, we figured that something must be wrong."

"Oh, yeah, how'd you get so many monsters fighting on our side, too?"

Max turned around and looked at the Sonic Bombers clustered behind him. "The Ridepod looks like a clown, so I figured I could recruit a few more team members."

"We can't waste any more time," Monica said. "Let's go back to the future."

"Sorry, but you all can't come back with us," Max said to the Sonic Bombers. "I'll be back soon, so wait for me."

Max stepped forward. The Sonic Bombers stayed where they were.

_Good, they look like they understand… _Max thought. With that, Max abandoned his small army and went back to Sindain with Monica and Gokuu.

* * *

Jurak watched as Max, Monica, and Gokuu walked up to him. He was giddy.

"Oooo…. Ooooo…" Jurak said as enthusiastically as he could. If he wasn't planted into the ground, he would be jumping up and down. "I remember something… Something about…Griffon…"

Max, Monica, and Gokuu's faces lit up at the same time.

"It seems…"

Monica put one foot forward, her hands clenched into fists and her eyes focusing only on Jurak.

"…that Griffon…"

Max, Monica, and Gokuu stared at Jurak, frozen in place. Everything around them was dark, and only they and Jurak were there. There were no sounds. The atmosphere was tense. Jurak could reveal Griffon's weakness. It could be Griffon's location. Whatever it was, it was something that would aid Max, Monica, and Gokuu in their fight against Griffon. Jurak blinked as he revealed the final part to the sentence:

"…likes flowers…"

Everything returned to normal: the Jurak Mall was back, and there were sounds again. Max and Monica's mouths hung wide open. The trio's faces darkened to their natural complexions. They were still staring at Griffon, Max and Monica each with a "Are you serious?" look. There was silence for a long time.

"I also know something about the Dragonballs…" Jurak said.

Max and Monica were interested again.

"The Dragonballs do exist in the future, but not this future… I don't quite know what that means myself… But Griffon has all of the Dragonballs…except the four-star Dragonball…"

Max became wide-eyed. "W-We have the four-star…"

"He'll…probably wish for the world to disappear if…" Monica said.

Gokuu put one foot forward and made a fist. He had a determined look on his face. "I won't let him take Grandpa's Dragonball! If he tries, I'll beat him up, no matter how strong he is!"

Max smiled. "Thank you, Jurak. You were a real help."

"Let's go work on Sindain a little," Monica said, "get a few more immigrants."

As Max, Monica, and Gokuu ran towards the time gate, Jurak said, "Yes… I think something useful will be put in one of my nostrils if you work on Sindain more…"

* * *

"Adel…" Max said. He, Monica, and Gokuu were in the Carpenterion, looking at the screen. "We have to get her. Let's go!"

They headed back to Palm Brinks for the next immigrant.


	8. Zero Confidence

**Chapter Eight: Zero Confidence**

"I can't believe this!" Monica said as she stomped off the train.

"Don't worry, Monica!" Gokuu said, walking beside her. "We'll be able to recruit Adel alone. Max told us where she is."

"But Max is possibly the only one who can recruit her! She probably doesn't even know who we are!"

"Well, she has no reason not to trust us. After all, it'll be our first meeting!"

"That's a _good _reason why she shouldn't trust us, Gokuu."

Gokuu thought back to when he, Monica, and Max were at Sindain, about to leave for Palm Brinks…

* * *

_Gokuu had already boarded the Blackstone One. Monica was stepping into the train when Max said, "Sorry guys, but I have to stay here."_

_Monica suddenly turned around. "What for?"_

_Gokuu poked his head out from behind Monica._

_Max scratched the back of his head. "I have to work on the Ridepod."_

"_But didn't you just do that?" Gokuu said._

"_This time, it's more important. Besides, it could help us in the long run. You guys can recruit Adel on your own, trust me. She's at my house in one of the servants' rooms. See ya later, and good luck!" Max began running to Cedric. The train's door began to close._

"_Wait, Max!" Monica yelled. But it was too late; the door had already closed, and Max didn't hear her._

_Monica clenched her hand into a fist. "Urgh… How could he just up and leave us like that?!"  
_

"_Um…" Gokuu thought for a moment. "He wouldn't normally do that, would he? This must be real important!"_

_Monica glared at Gokuu. "More important than recruiting someone?!"_

"_It's gotta be if he just left like that."_

_There was silence for a while. Finally, Monica said, "…Okay, let's go."

* * *

_Before she knew it, Monica found herself knocking on Adel's door, Gokuu beside her. Soon afterwards, the door slowly opened, revealing a young face that looked somewhat sad. She was dressed in maid's clothing.

"You're that girl and boy who've been hanging out with Max lately, aren't you…?" the maid said. "If you do anything to harm him, then…" She made the meanest face she could, although her expression still retained a bit of sadness.

"We didn't come to fight with you," Monica said in the calmest voice possible. She was still angry about Max abandoning her and Gokuu, making the job ten times harder, especially since the maid—Adel—had already made it clear that she didn't trust them. "You're Adel, right?"

Adel stood up straight. "Yes, I am."

"We'd like you to come with us to the outside world—Sindain to be exact. The world is in danger, and you can contribute to saving it."

"Where's Max?"

Monica glared. She felt her cheeks becoming hot. "I just asked you to help us save the world, and all you can say is…"

Adel was glaring back. She had inched toward Monica, as if ready for a fight.

"S-Sorry…" Monica said, relaxing herself. She thought, _This hasn't been a good day so far… _"Max couldn't make it. We would probably convince you more if he was here, but…he couldn't make it."

"You didn't get him hurt, did you?! Where is he?! What's his _exact _location?!"

"He's at Sindain Station, working on his machine, the Ridepod, with Cedric. Borneo and Erik are there, too. Gordon and Polly are already living in Sindain." _There, that should convince her._

"I…kind of trust you. Kind of."

"If you kinda trust us, you can just come with us, can't you?" Gokuu said.

"Well…can someone like me really help save the world?"

_At least she believes the "world in danger" part, unlike Milane, _Monica thought. "Of course you can! And you can do that by coming to Sindain with us!"

"Can you help me first?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Adel gestured for them to come inside the room. Monica and Gokuu followed her inside. They sat on chairs across from each other, Monica and Gokuu on one side, Adel on the other.

"I've been trying to make clothing for a long time now," Adel explained, "but every time, I didn't finish or the garment came out horribly. The more attempts I made, the more my confidence went down. But I've heard the saying 'There's strength in numbers.' I'd…like to believe that, so…can you help me with this garment? Can you support me? I'd like to give it one more try, but…if I fail…I don't think I can do it again…"

"Don't worry, we'll help!" Monica said.

"Yeah!" Gokuu said. "So, whaddaya need?"

"A sturdy cloth, hunk of copper, and thick hide, please."

Monica stood up. "Wait here. It won't take us long to get those!"

"I'll get it!" Gokuu said, smiling.

"You run fast, Gokuu, so it won't take you long at all. I'm pretty sure that Conda has those supplies." Monica reached inside her pouch and pulled out a handful of Gilda. "Here, that should be enough to buy it all."

Gokuu took the Gilda. "Okay, I'm off. Be right back!" He dashed out the door, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

"I hope he doesn't mess up the house," Adel said. "I'll have to clean up after him."

There were startled voices from outside.

"Whoa! What was that blur that just sped past?!"

"H-Hey!"

"Be careful! You'll knock something over!"

"With all this noise we've been making, I'm surprised Gerald hasn't come out and said something yet," Adel said.

"Gerald? That's…" Monica said.

"Yes, that's Max's father. He and Max have a rocky relationship. Gerald won't tell Max about his mother, and Max is pretty angry about that. That's why… I know I can't completely fill that mother slot in Max's life, but I do my best. That's why I try to be there for him whenever I can."

"Max's mother…" Monica looked down. She knew who Max's mother was, but she couldn't tell Max. Max would become stronger the longer he didn't know who his mother was, and he would stay focused on defeating Griffon. He would see his mother eventually, but now was not the time.

Gokuu burst through the door. Adel gasped, briefly afraid that Gokuu had broken through the door, but immediately saw that he had opened the door normally, even though he had come in speedily. He carried everything that Adel had asked for. He handed the supplies to her.

"Thank you," Adel said. "I'd be a little nervous with you two standing over me while I sew, so can you leave me alone for a while?"

Monica stood up. "Sure, no problem. Let's go for a walk, Gokuu."

"Okay!" Gokuu said. "Good luck, Adel!"

"You'll do it for sure!" Monica added.

"T-Thank you…" Adel said.

Monica and Gokuu left, closing the door behind them. Once she was sure no one could hear her, she said, "I'm making this for you, Max."

* * *

"Wow, that's all you had to do?" Max said. He and Cedric were standing in front of the Ridepod, which had just been equipped with a voice unit.

"Yep," Cedric replied. "Now it can talk to ya. I don't know about the 'being able to control itself like a living person' thing, but this should getcha a little ways."

"Thanks, Cedric! I'm sure it'll come in handy!"

Max reached into his pouch and pressed a button. The Ridepod's headlights flashed, indicating that it had been turned on.

"Whew…" the Ridepod, Steve, said. "What a nice nap… Hah! I can talk! I can talk!"

"It can talk! It can talk!" Max exclaimed.

"Uh-huh," Cedric said. "That's what the voice unit does."

"Finally! You…uh…Max. That's your name, right?"

"Yep!"

"Now I can give you advice when you control me! No, actually…" Steve began to circle Max.

"You can…just like I thought…you can move…" Max was practically breathless. This was an amazing discovery that would aid him, Monica, and Gokuu in their upcoming fights. The Ridepod could now control itself. It was as if Max, Monica, and Gokuu had gained another party member.

Cedric was also surprised. "Hm… There must be somethin' in that voice unit to make it move by itself…but what?"

"Oh, that doesn't matter since I can control myself now," Steve said, stopping in front of Max and Cedric. "Make somethin' that'll let me keep in contact with ya while we're apart from each other!"

"Absolutely!" Max was as enthusiastic as ever. "Let's do it, Cedric!"

Cedric nodded, but he couldn't help but be uneasy about that component that let the Ridepod control itself. It was helpful but, in the enemy's hands, it could be dangerous. As Cedric thought about that, a Griffon Soldier, who was told to spy only on Max directly by Griffon, left from its hiding spot, went into a clearing where no one could see it, and teleported into Griffon's time.

* * *

Monica knocked on Adel's door. "It's me, Monica. Gokuu's with me, too. How's the garment coming along?"

"I…I…I…"

"Is it okay if we come in?"

"I…I…I…"

Monica looked at Gokuu and shrugged. They entered the room. Adel had green overalls hanging in front of her face. Her face was lit up, her eyes were twinkling, and she was smiling, easily making it the happiest expression Monica and Gokuu had seen on Adel since the time they met her.

"You finished?!" Monica said.

"Finally…" Adel said. "After all this time… I completed a garment… I don't know how making clothes is essential to the future, but I completed a garment, and if you say I'm helpful, then I'll come with you!"

"Alright!" Gokuu said. "To Sindain!"

* * *

"That wasn't too hard," Max said, looking at the device he held that resembled a cell phone except with one button. "With this, we'll be able to keep in touch, like the Help Receiver, except exclusively for the Ridepod."

"Uh-huh!" Steve said. "You know I always stay out here, so good luck in that dungeon! Call me when you need me!"

"Definitely."

The Blackstone One rode up behind Max, Cedric, and Steve. When it stopped, the door opened, and Monica, Gokuu, and Adel stepped out.

"Oh, you got her!" Max said. He was having a great day so far.

"Master Maximilian," Adel said, bowing with the green overalls in her hands. She straightened up, walked over to him, and gave him the overalls. "This is for you. I…um…made it myself."

"Thanks! I'll wear it for sure!"

Adel couldn't help but smile, and she bowed again.

"We'll have your house in a little bit," Monica said. "Just wait here." She ran inside the train, Gilda ready, to buy supplies for a wooden house.

* * *

Adel was settled in her house. Max was now inside the time gate, Monica and Gokuu standing just outside of it. He presented his Red Atlamillia. Everything went white for a split second, and then the trio found themselves in the Jurak Mall. There was now a tailor shop inside Jurak's right nostril.

"Oh…" Jurak said. "You're here… Welcome… Come see the newest store that just opened up… It's inside my right nostril… We sell plenty of things that can come in handy for you… Please look…"

Max, Monica, and Gokuu entered Jurak's nostril. The Firbit inside said, "As part of our 'Just Opened' sale, we're selling Monster Badges. There's only one left, so you'd better get one now! If you leave and then come back for it, I can't guarantee it'll still be here, and this is a one-time only sale!"

"Why would we get a Monster Badge?" Gokuu said.

"Because it'll let you turn into a monster! We only have one Himarra badge left, so if you want it, you'd better get it. We also have gift capsules so you can give monsters little gifts. If you fill it with three of what a monster likes, you'll get that particular monster's badge, and you'll be able to transform into that monster! Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah," Monica said. "It's sounds kinda cool. I'll take the Himarra badge."

After Monica had bought the Himarra badge, the trio began to walk away from Jurak. Monica stopped.

"Max, Gokuu, listen," she said as the two boys stopped and looked at her. "This badge can be a real advantage to us. We might not get attacked by plant monsters anymore, or whatever's in the Himarra family."

"Speaking of an advantage, I upgraded the Ridepod," Max said.

Monica crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Oh, right."

"It can control itself now and talk. Apparently, the voice unit also had something inside of it that allows it to control itself. And we can keep in contact with each other using this." Max held up the cell phone-like device.

"That's great, too. Let's try all of that out on the next floor. I think we're really close to the final floor."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu ran toward the time gate. With their new advantages, they were getting closer to having the power to defeat Griffon.


	9. Predators and Prey

**Chapter Nine: Predators and Prey**

"Time to try this out." Monica reached inside her pouch and pulled out the Himarra badge. "Come to think of it, that salesman never told me how to use this. Maybe it's used the same way the Atlamillia is used?" She held the Himarra badge to the sky. The badge began to glow yellow. Max and Gokuu stared at Monica intently for any kind of reaction.

A yellow aura appeared around Monica. She felt herself tingling. Her legs and arms were enveloped in green roots, her hands become large leaves, badge still in hand. A sunflower sprouted at the top of her head. Her face turned green, her teeth stuck out of her mouth and became fangs. Her red eyes merged into one small red eye. Her transformation was complete; Monica was now a monster.

"I'm…a Himarra," Monica said, looking over herself. She held her hands, which were now leaves, in front of her face. She touched the sunflower on her head. Her vision was halved. She walked forward and back again, getting used to her small roots used for walking.

"That red eye of yours should keep us from getting you confused with other Himarras," Max said, "although I don't think there are any Himarras on this floor."

"Maybe I can talk to other monsters now," Monica said. "What other monsters are Himarras friends with? Do you know, Gokuu?"

"I thought all monsters were friends with each other," Gokuu said, "but they aren't, 'cause the Man-eating Plants and Himarras didn't like each other. I think they're friends now 'cause of me, though."

"You're talking about those Man-eating Plants and Himarras teaming up on you before, right?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe the Himarras are friends with all monsters in the plant family," Max said.

"That's the most logical answer," Monica said. "But I have to be careful. Gokuu said that not all monsters get along, and some monsters may be stronger than the Himarra."

A Tigriff stomped past them.

"Like that," Monica said. "I don't think I can beat that right now."

That same Tigriff flew over them. As it did so, it grabbed Monica with its talons and flew off into the distance.

"Oh, no!" Max said. "Monica's a flower, but that Tigriff thinks she's food!"

"We gotta go after it!" Gokuu began running in the direction the Tigriff took off, a cloud of dust following him. Max followed him, but soon had to stop since Gokuu was running so fast. There was no way he could keep up with Gokuu, no matter how hard he tried and how bad he wanted to save Monica.

A Spider Lady crawled up to Max. Max looked at it. They stared at each other for a moment. Finally, Max drew his Drill Wrench and Trumpet Gun. He swung his wrench towards the Spider Lady's head, but the Spider Lady gave Max a blow to the head first with her walking stick. Max, his wrench, and his gun fell on the ground. The Spider Lady took her new husband, Max's weapons left behind.

* * *

Monica sat up in the nest. She had briefly fallen unconscious on the way to the Tigriff's nest and had been woken up by chirping. The Tigriff that had taken her stood in front of the nest, and three small Tigriffs surrounded her.

"Baby Tigriffs…" she whispered to herself. Although they were small, they were considerably bigger than her. She looked at the biggest Tigriff. "That must be the mother."

One of the baby Tigriffs began to tug at a petal on Monica's head.

"Ouch!" Monica backflipped away from the bird, and her petal ripped from her head. She landed close to another Tigriff. Monica immediately began running around the nest in an attempt to keep the baby Tigriffs away from her. The Tigriffs ran after her, one behind the other. As she ran, she looked around and tried to think of a way to escape. If she couldn't, she could wait for Max and Gokuu to come for her. However, it would take a while for them to find her, even on Kintoun.

Or she could just de-transform and slay the Tigriffs. She realized that she had held on to the Himarra badge the whole time. She presented it as she would the Atlamillia, but nothing happened. She examined the badge closely. She turned it over and saw in small print, "Warning: Once transformed, cannot de-transform for four hours. Once de-transformed, cannot transform again for seven hours."

Monica's eye almost popped out of her head. "What? What? Why didn't they make that more noticeable?"

But there was nothing she could do about it. All she could keep doing was running around, and that's what she did.

* * *

Max opened his eyes. The sun shone to his right. The area around the Blackstone One had trees surrounding it. The wide-open, treeless space with Cedric, Borneo, and Erik was gone. It was also a little chilly, as if he was outside. Someone probably forgot to close the door.

"…nice morning," he said. Even though he was comfortable in bed, he knew he had to get up. He tried to sit up and stretch but couldn't. He looked down at his covers. They were now white, different than the covers he had the night before. Maybe he had changed them and just didn't remember?

He also seemed to be suspended in the air. He had probably sleepwalked and ended up on top of the train, which would explain why it felt like he was outside. Then, he looked around. He was on a cobweb.

"A cobweb?" he yelled. Instead of on top of the Blackstone One, he was in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. He was tied to a cobweb and was wrapped in webbing.

Max looked around desperately. If he could grab a branch, he could tear the cobweb down, but his hands were inside the webbing he was wrapped in. He couldn't move at all.

Something to his right caught his eye. He looked and saw a Spider Lady, who was also on the cobweb, staring at him. The Spider Lady crawled over to him and examined him closely. She aimed her stick at his throat. Max knew that she planned on killing him. He had just enough room inside the webbing to reach inside his pouch and take out his weapons. However, he couldn't feel his weapons.

"Oh no…" Max said, a hint of panic in his voice. "Did I drop them somewhere?"

The Spider Lady threw her stick towards his throat. Max, panicking now, forced his left arm to tear out of the cobweb. He caught the stick at the last second. He flipped the Spider Lady over. Immediately after he did that, he cringed, as he realized that that would make the Spider Lady angry. He gave a nervous look at the Spider Lady. Sure enough, she was glaring at him. She made a tighter, practically unbreakable webbing around Max, including his left arm.

"I just remembered…" Max said. "Don't spiders kill their mates? If that's true, then…uh-oh…"

But the Spider Lady wasn't going to kill Max. Not yet. It wanted to have some fun with him, as in, torture him. The Spider Lady jumped off the web and crawled away to get some of its friends.

* * *

Gokuu and the Hunter Fox stared at each other in the eyes. They had been staring at each other for a while, but Gokuu didn't know why. Finally, he asked, "What do you want? I'm trying to go save Monica, but you keep getting in my way." The Hunter Fox had effectively blocked Gokuu every time he tried to run past it. It matched Gokuu in speed.

The Hunter Fox ran behind Gokuu. It looked at Gokuu's behind.

"Why are you looking back there?" Gokuu said, staring at the Hunter Fox. "My butt doesn't have anything. Well, my tail used to be back there, but Monica cut it off."

The Hunter Fox's eyes widened. Then, it glared, angry at the humans for always getting in monsters' affairs. There was no reason that the human had to cut off a fellow monster's tail. He was going to track down the human, Monica, and kill her, along with other Hunter Foxes.

"Where is the human?" the Hunter Fox said. He could tell if others were talking about humans because humans were always given different names. Gokuu looked like a human since his tail was cut off, but he wasn't. He didn't smell like a human.

"She got taken away by a Tigriff, which is why I'm trying to save her!" Gokuu said. "Will you help?"

The Hunter Fox pointed its rifle towards the air and shot. The ground shook and trees fell as a countless number of Hunter Foxes ran to aid their brethren. Within seconds, Gokuu and the Hunter Fox were surrounded by other Hunter Foxes.

"We are ready," the Hunter Fox that had called the others said.

"Okay." Gokuu pointed north. "They went that way! C'mon!"

* * *

Max was covered in blood. The Spider Ladies kept stabbing him with their sticks. The worst part was he couldn't fight back, as his clothes were pinned to a tree with some other sticks, his arms and legs outstretched away from his body.

Suddenly, Max realized something. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about the Ridepod. If only he could free one of his hands…

He looked around for something to free him. Better yet, he could trick one of the Spider Ladies into freeing at least one of his arms. One hand was all he needed to reach into his pouch and call the Ridepod.

After a few minutes of torture, the Spider Ladies assembled in a circle. After discussing something, all but one parted. The one Spider Lady that was left stared at Max, not blinking, not looking around, as though she were a statue.

Max motioned with his left hand for the Spider Lady to come over to him. The Spider Lady went over to Max. He pointed to his right hand, then to his sleeve.

The Spider Lady stared at the sleeve for a long time, wondering what was in it. She didn't see any bulge indicating that something was inside. Then again, it could be as small as a Pumpkinhead's bomb. The Spider Lady began to sweat. If there was a bomb inside, it could go off anytime.

The Spider Lady took the stick holding Max's arm to the tree, letting Max's arm free. Max punched the Spider Lady's face, sending it yards away from him. He swiftly reached into his pouch and pressed the button. He smiled. The Ridepod was coming.

* * *

Monica ran around the nest, shielding herself with her arms. The baby Tigriffs were chasing her, the mama Tigriff watching contently. The baby Tigriffs had been chasing her for a while, and she couldn't keep running forever.

She stopped. She wanted to keep running, but her body wouldn't let her anymore. She collapsed. The three Tigriffs surrounded her. One picked her up with its beak as though she were a worm, engulfing her head in darkness and saliva. The Tigriff began to shake its head rapidly, making Monica nauseous. She hoped it wouldn't eat her.

The other baby Tigriffs, objecting to this action, each grabbed one of her legs and began pulling. The shaking had stopped, but now Monica was being stretched out.

After what seemed to be forever, all three Tigriffs tore away involuntarily. Monica did a 360 in the air and fell down hard on her stomach. She couldn't move, she was so sore, and her head dripped with saliva.

A Tigriff pecked at Monica's back. The two other Tigriffs did as well. They licked her, tasted her. The mama Tigriff joined in. Then, the mama Tigriff motioned for the babies to back away from Monica. Then, with her beak, she made small indents, not deep enough to make Monica bleed, where she was going to divide Monica. She made sure to make all portions equal so no one would get upset at eating less than another.

Monica wanted to get away, but she couldn't, as her body refused to respond to Monica's plea for it to move.

"Over here, guys!"

Monica looked towards the direction Gokuu's voice came, relief spreading throughout her body. She saw Gokuu's spiky hair and a lot of monsters running towards the tree the nest was in.

Monica was so relieved, she was speechless.

"Shoot them!" a Hunter Fox yelled. However, Monica couldn't understand it, and all she heard was gibberish.

Gunshots echoed. Multiple bullets shot through all four Tigriffs, and they were downed in less than a second. Now Monica's body responded, and she was able to get up to see who had fired the gunshots. Gokuu had gotten Hunter Foxes to help her. Who knew monsters could be so nice?

* * *

"'Ey, Max!" Steve said. He had led hundreds of Sonic Bombers to the site Max had called from for help. The Sonic Bombers almost launched onto Max, but Steve held out his arms in front of them, stopping them. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, _hey! _He's not our enemy! Don't attack unless I tell y'all to!"

The Sonic Bombers straightened up and relaxed.

"So, Max, heard ya needed help?"

"Yeah, glad you came," Max said, nodding. "I need to take me down from this tree."

"No prob." Steve ripped out all the sticks holding Max in place. "You told me that a buncha monsters were after ya?"

"Yeah." Max looked into the distance. "They should be coming back any minute…"

The Spider Ladies fell from the sky, surrounding Max and carrying all kinds of weapons for torture: whips, sticks, knives… They stared at the army of machines for a moment and then began to run away.

"Is it okay to go after them, Max?" Steve said.

Max climbed into the Ridepod. "I don't want them hurting anyone else like the way they did to me, so…go for it."

Steve pointed at the Spider Ladies who were running away. "Charge!"

Steve led the way as it and the Sonic Bombers ran after the Spider Ladies. The machines broke the Spider Ladies' bones and even broke some of them in half. The sonic waves were so intense that they made the Spider Ladies explode. All the Spider Ladies were gone in less than a minute.

"Thanks a lot, guys," Max said. "You all saved me."

"Anytime, Max," Steve said. "That was very easy. Oh, yeah, I picked these up on my way here." Steve handed Max his Drill Wrench and Trumpet Gun.

"Thanks! I'll need these!"

"Once again, no prob. Anything else ya need?"

"I need you to do another favor for me. Some monsters took Monica away, and I need you all to help me save her."

Steve made a yawning sound. "Another easy mission? Lead the way."

* * *

Hoping that four hours had passed, Monica held her Himarra badge to the sky. It began to glow gray. The roots, leaves, and sunflower fell off her body as though she were shedding. Her one eye became two; her fangs became normal, human teeth; her skin color returned to normal. Her long, red hair was visible again. She had de-transformed.

Monica jumped from the nest and landed safely on her feet in front of Gokuu and the Hunter Foxes.

"I'm so glad you came!" Monica said. "You came just in time!"

"Yeah!" Gokuu said. He turned to the Hunter Foxes behind him. "Okay, now that Monica's saved, you all can go home now! Bye!"

The Hunter Foxes didn't move.

"Didja hear me? You all can go now!"

All the Hunter Foxes pointed their guns at Monica.

"Huh?" Monica stepped back. "I know you didn't tell them to shoot me, Gokuu."

"I didn't!" Gokuu said. "I dunno what they're doing!" He turned to the Hunter Foxes. "Stop it, guys! She's a good person! She didn't do anything wrong!"

"Yes, she hasn't done anything wrong…yet," a Hunter Fox said.

"Huh?" Gokuu said.

Another Hunter Fox stepped forward, with its gun still pointed at Monica. "Son Gokuu, we cannot allow a human to move freely throughout a monsters' habitat. Even if you, one of our fellow monsters, say that a human is good, we cannot take the risk of letting another human tear up this forest. Every human is bad. Every human is capable of destruction. We cannot let that kind of person run around here. Therefore—"

The ground shook.

"Get those foxes, guys!" The voice was one Monica and Gokuu had never heard before.

Hundreds of Hunter Foxes flew into the distance. Some exploded. Others were trampled and flattened. Monica withdrew her Bastard Sword while Gokuu made a fighting stance.

Monica's sword clashed with a Hunter Fox's gun. After a few moments of flying sparks, they released themselves, the Hunter Fox stepping back while Monica backflipped away. The Hunter Fox aimed its gun at Monica. Monica jumped behind it and sliced it to death. Pieces of the Hunter Fox fell to the ground, and it disintegrated.

Gokuu spun, sending all Hunter Foxes that got close to him flying into the distance. He then went into close combat, smashing a Hunter Fox's face, knocking it on the ground, and then punching it to death. While that Hunter Fox was disintegrating, Gokuu launched onto another fox. He punched it in the gut. Then, he punched it rapidly. He backflipped away. The Hunter Fox stood in place for a moment and then fell on the ground and disintegrated.

Gokuu looked around for Monica. Instead, he saw Max, bashing a Hunter Fox with his Drill Wrench. That Hunter Fox disintegrated. Max then focused on a Hunter Fox that was aiming to shoot him. He quickly aimed with his Trumpet Gun and shot its heart, killing the fox first.

The army of Hunter Foxes was gone.

Monica and Gokuu ran up to Max.

"Boy, am I glad that you came, Max!" Monica said. "I think Gokuu and I would be dead now if it wasn't for you."

"Don't thank me, thank them." Max pointed to the Ridepod and the army of Sonic Bombers. "They saved me from Spider Ladies' who tortured me and almost ate me. If it weren't for them, all three of us would be toast."

Monica smiled and waved at Steve and the Sonic Bombers. Steve and the Flotsam Balloons inside the Sonic Bombers waved back.

"I'm guessing that voice I heard earlier was the Ridepod?" Monica said.

"Yup," Max said. "You'll be hearing a lot of him from now on."

"Wow, I didn't think that your upgrade would be very useful, but without it, we'd all possibly be dead. Thanks for that."

"No problem."

"We have to be very careful now, especially since the next floor is the last one, the one before Rainbow Falls. The next floor _is_ the last floor before Rainbow Falls, right, Gokuu?"

"Uh-huh!" Gokuu replied.

"The monsters will be even stronger since they're close to the Rainbow Butterfly, which seems like a very powerful monster. Monsters hate humans, so they'll try to kill us. Three Tigriffs almost ate me, and Hunter Foxes tried to shoot me and Gokuu.

"That aside, I found out that once I transform into the Himarra, I can't de-transform for four hours and transform again for seven!"

"Hm," Max said. "Maybe, eventually, we'll be able to find a way for you to stay transformed for as long as you want and de-transform whenever you want."

"That'd be useful. Then, I could actually fight back against other monsters. I didn't know how to fight as a Himarra."

"All you have to do is punch them," Gokuu said.

"I…have leaves for hands, Gokuu."

"Then use the flower on your head and spin! It'll hurt them!"

"I never thought of that before. Thanks, Gokuu. I'll try that next time."

"Don't forget about that green sap that Himarras always spit out and makes the victim slower," Max said.

"I forgot about that. That certainly would've helped me when I was being chased by those Tigriffs. Anyway, let's go back to Sindain. Actually, first, did any of you pick up the Geostone? I…kind of didn't have a chance to."

Max held up the Geostone. "Yup! I picked it up on my way here!"

"Back to Sindain, then," Monica said. Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Steve made their way to Sindain, the Sonic Bombers watching them.


	10. All Together Now

**Chapter Ten: All Together Now**

After they had finished working on Sindain, Max, Monica, and Gokuu entered Rainbow Butterfly Wood once more.

"The monsters here should be really strong," Monica said as Max and Gokuu walked alongside her. "Be careful."

Max nodded. "To think, this'll be the last time we encounter any of the monsters here…not including the Rainbow Butterfly." He took out his camera. "I have to take some pictures and show them to Donny. I'm sure he wants to see the different kinds of monsters in the outside world."

"I have to say bye to all the monsters here," Gokuu said, "even though some of them don't like me anymore."

"Let's try not to get separated this time," Monica said. "It's easier to fight as a team."

Gokuu's eyes lit up when he saw a Gyumo in front of them. He ran over to it.

"Ah, Gokuu!" the Gyumo said. Max and Monica watched, as they couldn't understand what it was saying.

"Hi!" Gokuu said. "I'm leaving soon, so buh-bye!"

The Gyumo pointed its head to the sky and roared. Max quickly took a picture of the roaring Gyumo.

"Goodbye, Son Gokuu," the Gyumo said. "You'll be missed."

"I can come back anytime, remember? I'll come back sometime, promise."

"See you then, Gokuu." The Gyumo glanced at Max and Monica. "Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about. I've heard that you've been hanging out with humans lately." It looked disappointingly at Max and Monica. "It looks like it's true. I've also heard that those humans have been tearing up this forest and have encouraged you to do so as well. I've heard that you turned on the Man-eating Plants, Himarras, and Hunter Foxes, killing them all. Those humans over there helped you."

Gokuu blinked. "Yeah."

"It just makes me uncomfortable, that's all. Good luck!" The Gyumo continued on its way.

Gokuu ran back to Max and Monica.

"What was that all about?" Monica said.

"I don't think the monsters trust you two," Gokuu said. "I think they're starting not to trust me, too."

"Well, we don't trust them either."

"That monster over there said that humans have been wrecking the forest."

"Usually, they pick fights with us. We kind of don't have a choice."

"All we can do is keep fighting," Max said. "What we're doing is for the greater good."

* * *

Max, Monica, and Gokuu had to be running through the forest for at least an hour, yet they hadn't encountered any more monsters.

"This is really strange," Monica had said, "especially since you'd expect that there'd be the most monsters on the last floor."

Nevertheless, they continued to run, picking up Georama materials and the Geostone. However, they couldn't find the exit. All they needed to do was cross the tree, and they would be at Rainbow Falls.

"Maybe it'd be better if we split up," Monica said. "Gokuu and I could run, and Max, you could ride Kintoun."

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Max said.

"I'm hungry," Gokuu said. "Can we eat first?"

"Um, sure," Monica said. "It's not like we're in a rush or anything."

Max took out three bread loaves and handed one to Monica and one to Gokuu. Gokuu opened his mouth to eat it, but the bread loaf touched a wall. The area the bread touched was white.

"Hey, I can't eat this," Gokuu said. "There's a wall in my mouth." He looked at Max and Monica. They both had their bread loaves up to their mouths, but the wall was keeping them from putting them inside their mouths.

Monica lowered the bread loaf. "A…White Seal, maybe?"

"We have to get rid of it!" Gokuu said. "It's keeping us from eating!"

"It's probably removed the same way the other Seals are."

"You mean defeating all the monsters on this floor?" Max said.

"Uh-huh. Let's find all the monsters."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu ran around the forest again. They made sure to explore every inch of the floor, but there were no traces of any monsters anywhere.

"Gah, I'm really hungry…" Gokuu said. "That Seal's making me tired _and _mad!"

"Where _are_ all the monsters?" Monica said. "Well, maybe we should just go to the next floor, which we probably should've done in the first place."

Surprisingly, it didn't take them long to reach the fallen tree. It was right around the corner.

"We made it…" Max said. "We can finally defeat the Rainbow Butterfly and meet Holly. Maybe…my mother…"

"We can finally eat…" Gokuu said.

"After this, we're one step closer to defeating Griffon," Monica said. "Let's go!" She ran towards the fallen tree and jumped towards the trunk, but a Gyumo jumped down in front of her and hit her in her stomach. It caught Monica by the leg as she was falling. It then threw her towards Max and Gokuu. Max caught her, but the impact made him slide backwards. Despite this, he managed to retain his balance.

"Monica, are you okay?" Max said.

"Yeah… Thanks, Max." She got back on her feet and said, "Where'd that monster come from?"

All the monsters in Rainbow Butterfly Wood, save the Himarras, Man-eating Plants, and Hunter Foxes, seemed to fall from the sky, surrounding the trio.

"It's an ambush!" Max said. He took out his device to call the Ridepod. A Skeleton Soldier snatched it, dropped it on the ground, and crushed it with its foot. The expression on Max's face turned to horror as the Skeleton Soldier made sure the pieces of the device were so small, they were hardly visible.

Max stared at the spot the device had been broken at. "My…"

Gokuu withdrew his Nyoi-bo. "You guys are keeping me from eating, and I'm really hungry!" He hit the Skeleton Soldier in the side with his Nyoi-bo. "Extend!" He knocked down half of the army of monsters with his Nyoi-bo. The fallen monsters quickly got up.

Max and Monica withdrew their weapons. Gokuu sheathed his Nyoi-bo and took a battle stance.

Monica looked around. She jumped in place and saw that the army of monsters went on for miles. "This…might take a while."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu didn't have a chance to attack first, as the monsters attacked first instead. Two Tortoises bit each of Max's legs. A Pixie flew around Max's head happily. It then bit one of his cheeks, stretching it out and then letting it go as though it were rubber. Max held his cheek with his left hand. When he held that hand in front of his face, he saw that it had blood on it.

Gokuu was knocked down by a Killer Snake. They were face to face. The Killer Snake hissed, its tongue lightly touching Gokuu's face.

"G-Get off…" Gokuu said through clenched teeth. "I'm really hungry and really tired, but if I need to beat all you guys up in order to eat, then… Get off!" Gokuu pushed the Killer Snake off him. He stood up, but a Moler tackled him and knocked him down.

A nearby Pumpkinhead had a strong urge to throw a bomb, but it would kill everyone. Instead, it ran over to Gokuu and repeatedly stabbed him with its trident. Gokuu was bleeding heavily. He elbowed the Pumpkinhead off of him and sent it flying into other monsters, making the monsters unfortunate enough to be caught by the Pumpkinhead flying short distances in different directions. Those monsters fell on top of other monsters, creating chaos. The monsters that had been fallen on were pushed into other monsters, and the domino effect began.

Monica was wrestling a Skeleton Soldier, both their swords cast to the side. The Skeleton Soldier had her pinned down. Several other monsters aided the Skeleton Soldier by pinning Monica's legs down. They allowed her hands to stay free, however, in order to make the wrestling match more entertaining. Monica's hands pushed against the Skeleton Soldier's hands, but the Skeleton Soldier was winning.

A Kotore flew into the Skeleton Soldier, sending it and the Skeleton Soldier flying into other monsters. The monsters pinning Monica down stared at the monsters getting knocked down in front of them, as did Monica. Monica realized that she was in the middle of a fight and, while the monsters pinning her down still stared at the monsters getting knocked down all around them, grabbed her sword and sliced all of them in half. They disintegrated.

She stood up and looked around. The monsters were killing themselves, as the monsters that had been knocked down had not disintegrated and were now fighting other monsters. They had all thought they had betrayed each other. Max and Gokuu were standing and were also watching the monsters kill themselves. A Tore who had, luckily, not been affected by the domino effect went in front of the crowd and yelled, "Stop!" It came out as gibberish to Max and Monica, but Gokuu could understand it.

The monsters stopped fighting and looked at the Tore.

"We're killing our fellow monsters," the Tore said. "The ones we're supposed to be after are those humans!" He pointed to Max, Monica, and Gokuu, who had, despite the chaos, ended up next to each other. "If a fellow monster bumps into you or whatnot, I assure you it is an accident. No matter what happens, continue to kill those humans until they're dead!

"Oh, yes, I saw Son Gokuu cause all this chaos, so go after him first! He is clearly the leader! Defeat him and the rest go down!"

The monsters glared at Max, Monica, and Gokuu.

"I'm angry…" a Pixie said.

"Me, too…" a Moler said.

"I hate humans," a Mimic said. "All they do is mess everything up."

"I know," a Fire Element said. "They even brainwashed Son Gokuu."

All the monsters' eyes rolled back, and their bodies became gold with power.

"Looks like that tree monster cleared up the confusion," Max said.

"And they all look stronger to boot," Monica said, watching the monsters begin to glow gold and their eyes become completely white.

"Guys, that monster said that it doesn't matter if another monster attacks fellow monsters!" Gokuu said. "They're going to attack us no matter what now!"

"That gives me an idea…" Monica said. "If we can convince a monster to attack other monsters for us, it can help us defeat other monsters!"

"Great idea!" Max said.

Monica reached into her pouch and pulled out her Himarra badge. She held it in the air. The badge began to glow yellow.

A Face of Prajna spat poison goo into Monica's face. She was poisoned, but couldn't heal herself, as nothing would go into her mouth thanks to the White Seal. They now had a time limit to defeat the monsters, as Monica would die if she didn't get to the next floor soon.

The Face of Prajna's attack also made Monica flinch. She couldn't transform in the middle of these monsters. She had to get somewhere where the monsters couldn't attack her so she could transform.

"I know this'll be hard to do, but distract them for me," Monica told Max and Gokuu, who were practically drowning in monsters. "I'm going to try and get on top of a tree and transform."

"Got it," Max said, hitting all the monsters on top of him in the forehead with his wrench. The monsters fell down, knocked out, letting Max free.

"Okay!" Gokuu said, spin-kicking all the monsters off him.

Monica looked around and saw the tallest tree in the area. Before she could act, dozens of monsters tackled her.

"I…can't breathe…" she said. The monsters were biting her, punching her, stabbing her. Anything they were capable of doing, they did it. She was hurting all over, and she couldn't move. All she saw was darkness and the monsters' completely white eyes as they beat her to death.

"Max…! Gokuu…!" she said as loud as she could. But, even if they did hear her, they couldn't do anything because they were too busy fighting off other monsters.

"Here comes the big Tigriff!" a Gyumo that was lying on top of Monica said.

"Aw, I hope she doesn't crush us," a Kotore said.

"I heard that the human killed that Tigriff's friends," a Pixie said. "A vendetta!"

"Stay on top of the human, everyone," a Pumpkinhead said, "regardless of how much we'll be in pain!"

"Ah!" a Skeleton Soldier said. "Here comes the foot!"

Monica wondered what the monsters were talking about, as they had ceased beating her, but had remained on top of her. She could only hear gibberish, but she knew that gibberish meant they were talking.

Suddenly, Monica felt a lot of pressure. It felt like she was being crushed by a building. Then, the pressure was gone.

"Oh no… The body slam…!" a Tortoise slowly said.

Monica felt even more pressure. She thought she was going to explode. With the pressure and poison combined, Monica was certain she was going to die.

Then, she thought of something. She began gathering energy in her body. She gathered as much as she could. She released that energy, a purple sphere quickly growing around her and throwing all the monsters off of her. Any monsters that dared come close were thrown into the distance.

With the sphere still around her, Monica jumped onto the tallest tree's branch. She jumped onto its higher branches until she reached the top. Then, she relaxed, making her sphere disappear. She held up the Himarra badge and transformed. All the knowledge of an average Himarra filled her head, including all the monsters' names.

"Wow, that didn't happen the last time," Monica said. "Could it be that the more I use it, the more knowledge I get?"

She jumped back down into the crowd of monsters, landing next to a Skeleton Soldier.

"Ah, a Himarra!" a Skeleton Soldier said. "I saw all the Himarras and Man-eating Plants get killed, though."

"Exactly," Monica said. "I want to avenge them all."

"Let's go after the humans! Although, that human girl disappeared."

"I'll track her down later. Right now, I'd like to focus on the two human boys. But, I've heard that some other monsters are planning to betray us and help the humans, like Son Gokuu did."

"Exactly who's trying to?"

"The Pixies."

"Those Pixies were always tricksters. I'm not surprised."

"The Pumpkinheads, too."

"I'll tell the other Skeleton Soldiers, and we'll kill them together." The Skeleton Soldier ran over to another of its kind and told it about the betrayal.

"This is working out perfectly!" Monica said. "Now, if I do the same with other monsters…"

She ran over to a Moler and told it that the Tores and the Tigriffs were going to betray them. It believed her. Next, she went to an Ice Element and told it that the Fire Elements and Gyumos were going to betray them. It believed her. She continued to do so until she had all the monsters pitted against each other.

The monsters were now fighting as hard as they could against each other. All monsters were convinced that their fellow monsters were betraying them. Slowly, they killed each other, as Monica saw some monsters fall to the ground and disintegrate. She saw Max and Gokuu staring at the monsters. Even though she had clearly said that the humans were part of it, they weren't getting attacked.

Soon, all the monsters were gone. Monica de-transformed as Max and Gokuu ran over to her.

"Well, that shows how close-knit they are," she said. She pulled out an antidote drink and drank it. She immediately felt better.

"Great job, Monica!" Max said. "You saved us! I got some pictures at the end, too!"

"Yeah, thanks a lot!" Gokuu said, taking out his bread that he had held onto the whole time. "Finally, I can eat!"

"Back to Sindain one more time," Monica said. And the trio made their way back to Sindain.

* * *

The trio went in Jurak Mall after completing Sindain. The food and tailor shops were still there, but now there was a tree branch that had a weapon shop and nest filled with three golden eggs on it.

"This is the completed Jurak Mall, huh?" Max said.

"It's a little different than I remember it, but that's okay," Monica said.

"Max… Monica… Gokuu…" It was Jurak. The trio ran over to him.

"I have a special gift for you for restoring this place to its former glory… Here…" He wiggled his right nostril, green smoke puffed out of it, and a gun floated into Max's hand. The gun strongly resembled Jurak himself, even featuring Jurak's giant eyes.

"Thank you, Master Jurak," Max said. He took out his camera. "Would you mind if I took a picture of you?"

"Not at all…"

Max aimed that camera at Jurak and took a picture. Next, he ran onto the branch and took a picture of the golden eggs. He found gold paint and took it out.

"Are you ready, Max?" Monica yelled from the ground.

"Yeah, I'm ready!" He ran down the branch and followed Monica and Gokuu to the time gate.

* * *

It was night. Max, Monica, and Gokuu were in the Blackstone One. Max had built up his Drill Wrench to a Smash Wrench. He had also built his Trumpet Gun to a Bell Trigger, even though his Jurak Gun was much stronger. However, he had decided that the Bell Trigger would be his backup weapon. Unfortunately, Monica had hardly used her sword or brassard in the big fight and couldn't build up either.

Max had built a new device that would let him call the Ridepod. It only took him half an hour to make, as there weren't a lot of parts to it, and it was a small device. He hoped that it wouldn't get broken in a situation like that ever again. Then, he remembered that he could've used the Help Receiver. He smacked his forehead. He had forgotten that he had the Help Receiver.

He had upgraded the Ridepod from the battle against the army of Spider Ladies and Hunter Foxes. He had given it a new core. He would give it new parts later when he had time. Right now, he just wanted to go to sleep. He was anxious, though, as he could be meeting his mother tomorrow. He was excited, nervous, and sleepy at the same time.

Max managed to fall asleep, no one but his mother in his dreams.


	11. Dear Holly

**Chapter Eleven: Dear Holly**

Max approached the lake. He threw the Lafrescia seed into the lake. A sprout appeared. Next, he threw the sundrops into the lake.

The ground began to shake, and the trio began to move upwards. Max lost his balance and fell off the growing Lafrescia. Monica grabbed Gokuu's arm, as Gokuu was keeping his balance very well. The flower kept growing until it was the size of a skyscraper, and the ground stopped rumbling. Max stood up and took a picture of the plant.

"This must be…the Lafrescia," Monica said. She looked at Max, who was on the ground. He looked like a speck. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Max yelled back. "I'm gonna try and come up there!" He ran up to the flower and examined it. He saw a white string. _I wonder what this is. _Max grabbed the string, and it began moving upwards as though it were an elevator. The string took him to the top of the Lafrescia, throwing him off. Max fell on his stomach, his hat rolling off. He stood up and walked around, exploring the flower. Monica and Gokuu did the same.

"It's kinda…pretty and gross at the same time," Monica said.

The flapping tongues caught Gokuu's eye. He ran over to one and touched it with his finger. He put his finger to his eyes and noticed saliva dripping from it. Then, he gripped the surface and underside of the tongue, his right hand on the surface, his left hand underneath. He moved as the tongue did, up and down, up and down. Max and Monica stopped and stared at him.

"Whoa, this is fun!" he said. "You guys should try this!"

"That's gross," Monica said.

The ground rumbled as the Rainbow Butterfly passed over them. Max and Monica covered their heads. The Rainbow Butterfly stopped and shot an orange sphere at them. Max and Monica jumped back, dodging the sphere.

"What in the world?" Monica yelled. "What did we ever do?"

Gokuu jumped off the tongue and landed on the Lafrescia's surface. "So, do we just beat it up?"

"We can't!" Monica said. "Our attacks can't reach it that far and, even if they did, they wouldn't have any effect!"

"My Nyoi-bo can hurt it," Gokuu said, pulling out his Nyoi-bo. "Nyoi-bo, extend!" The Nyoi-bo extended towards the Rainbow Butterfly, but the Rainbow Butterfly flew to the side, dodging it. Max and Monica ducked as Gokuu swung the Nyoi-bo around in a circle, but the Rainbow Butterfly flew above it. Gokuu aimed higher, but the Rainbow Butterfly flew below it. This pattern continued until Gokuu got dizzy and collapsed on the ground, his Nyoi-bo returning to its original size.

"It can't hurt it after all…" Gokuu said.

"Another way, then." Max looked around the flower and saw what looked like yellow roots in the middle. He pointed to them and said, "What do you think these do?"

Monica rolled out of the way of another orange sphere and next to Max. "Who knows?"

Max touched the root. It made a watery noise.

Monica scrunched her face. "Ew, ew, ew."

"I'll try again…" Gokuu said, still dizzy. "Extend…" However, he didn't know which direction the Nyoi-bo was extending in. It hit the root Max had just touched, and Max jumped back. The root lifted itself into the air so it pointed towards the sky. It swayed from left to right.

Max and Monica looked at each other and nodded. They went in different directions, hitting each root with their weapons. Soon, all the roots were in the air.

The Rainbow Butterfly flew in the middle of the roots, smoke enveloping it. When the smoke disappeared, there were seven small butterflies, each a color of the rainbow. They spread out, landing on humps on the Lafrescia.

"Now what do we do?" Monica said. Gokuu, recovered from his dizziness, stood up and joined her and Max.

"The colors of the rainbow…" Max said. "What are they in order?"

"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet," Gokuu said, counting off the colors with his fingers. "I've seen lotsa rainbows!"

"So do we have to do something with those butterflies?" Monica said. "Something that has to do with their colors?"

The mini-butterflies flew in the middle of the roots again, and the smoke appeared, enveloping them. Max pulled out his camera and took a picture. The smoke disappeared, showing the Rainbow Butterfly in its entirety. The roots lay back on the ground.

"We have to hit the roots again?" Max said.

"Yup, guess so," Monica said. "Let's do it! You help, too, Gokuu."

They went around and hit all the roots, taking even less time now because Gokuu had joined them. The Rainbow Butterfly, once again, flew into the middle of the roots and then separated into the seven mini-butterflies. Each mini-butterfly landed on a hump on the Lafrescia.

"Maybe they're just like the roots," Max said.

"You mean we have to hit them?" Monica said.

"Yeah, in the order of the colors of the rainbow," Max said. "Since you know what all the colors are, Gokuu, you can do it."

Gokuu nodded. He disappeared. He appeared in front of the red butterfly and punched it. The butterfly shrieked and then flew inside the roots. He appeared in front of the orange butterfly and hit it. That butterfly flew inside the roots. He did the same for the rest of the butterflies, hitting them all in order of the colors of the rainbow.

Once the butterflies were all gathered in the middle of the roots, they released a strange powder. A woman floated down from where the mini-butterflies were, her feet gently touching the ground. She opened her eyes.

"Hello there," the woman said.

Max looked disappointedly at her. "Hi…" _She's not my mother._

The woman said she was Holly and explained what had happened between her and the Firbits. When she was a young butterfly, the Firbits had saved her from a cobweb she had gotten stuck in. She decided to repay the favor in her human form, coming to their house and helping them with various things. However, dark energy was in her body, increasing day by day. She left the Firbits, knowing that something bad would happen to them if the dark energy burst from her body. She couldn't fight it off, and she became a monster.

Holly gave Monica a letter, saying that it was addressed to the Firbits, as she couldn't show herself to them. Holly thanked them and then turned into the seven mini-butterflies. The butterflies flew away in different directions.

Max, Monica, and Gokuu stared at the spot Holly left for a moment. Then, they turned and walked towards the string that would lead them off the Lafrescia.

* * *

The seven Firbits and the trio were in the Carpenterion. Conda had Holly's letter and read it out loud, his voice shaky. The Firbits shook and sniveled as he read it. In the letter, Holly apologized for her absence and explained why she would never be able to see them again. Conda closed the letter, and all the Firbits began to cry.

After a long while of crying, the Firbits calmed down. Conda said that he and the other Firbits knew that Holly was a butterfly the whole time because of her smell.

"Why didn't you tell us that?" Monica said.

"I think it's time all of us moved on to the next area," Conda said, ignoring Monica's question. He looked out the window. The sun was setting. "But it's getting late. Why don't you three stay here for the night?"

"Yeah, let's do that," Max said. "We'll leave in the morning."

* * *

The trio stood in Sindain Station, deciding on things they could do before calling it a day.

"I'm going back to the Great Fish Swamp to catch the Holy One Gokuu saw," Max said. "I'm sure it'd make a great picture for Donny."

"I'll go with you," Monica said. "I've never seen it, either."

"The Firbits mentioned something about grape juice," Gokuu said. "Juice makes you stronger, so I'm going to ask them if I can drink some!"

And the trio went their separate ways.

* * *

Max and Monica arrived at the Great Fish Swamp. They entered the clearing where the swamp was. Max took out his rod.

He looked at Monica. "What does the Holy One like to eat?"

Monica shrugged. "Beats me. Let's go ask Master Utan."

They ran to the area where Master Utan was. Master Utan waved.

"You're back!" Master Utan said as Max and Monica stopped in front of him.

"Master Utan, we have something to ask you," Monica said.

"What is it?"

"What does the Holy One like to eat?"

"He likes poison apples. Why?"

Monica picked up one of the apples that was next to Master Utan. "We're going to use the apple as bait."

"The Holy One won't be very happy if you fish him out."

"I'm sure we can stop him if he attacks us. He is a fish, after all."

"Ah, well, mind your manners when you meet him!"

Max and Monica left Master Utan and went back to the swampy area. Max equipped the rod with the poison apple. Then, he cast it out into the swamp. A few seconds later, he felt the rod vibrate. He was slowly pulled forward. He pulled the opposite way, but he was still being pulled forward. The line snapped, and Max fell down. A giant, purple fish emerged from the swamp.

"W-What's this? There's a…h-h-hook stuck in my lip! Who did this?" The Holy One glared at Max and Monica. "Was it you?"

Max stood up. He took out his camera. "Y-Yes, but it was only so I could take a picture of you. If you don't mind, that is."

The Holy One's visible eye lit up. "Of course I don't mind! Snap away!"

Max aimed the camera at the Holy One and looked into the lens.

"Wait, do you want me to pose in any way, or is this fine? I have many different poses, you know. Like my—"

"No, you're fine just like that," Monica said.

Max pressed a button on top, taking a picture of the Holy One, the legendary King Mardan.

"I like you two a lot more than the human I saw a few days ago," King Mardan said. "He tried to soil my face and everything! Ick!"

Max and Monica immediately realized that he was talking about Gokuu, but they kept straight faces and said nothing.

"Are there any more pictures you would like to take of me?"

"No," Max said, putting his camera in his pouch. "That's it."

"Okay, then! Ta-ta!" King Mardan dove back into the water, laughing the whole way through.

"Well, that ends that," Monica said.

"Now I have to go work on the Ridepod, and then I have to show Donny all my scoops," Max said. "Actually, to save time…" He took out his camera. "Monica, would you mind going to Donny's and showing him my scoops?"

"He doesn't like me, Max. You couldn't tell the first time we met?"

"C'mon, you're just showing him my scoops. He'll give you something good in return."

"But he might not give something good to _me, _especially since he doesn't like me."

"Take Gokuu with you."

"You think that'll make a difference? Donny only trusts you, Max, not me nor Gokuu." She paused. "Then again, it is to save time. It's okay. We'll do it."

Max's face lit up. "Great! Thanks a lot!"

* * *

Gokuu entered the Firbits' home. "It's Son Gokuu! Is anybody here?"

No one answered.

Gokuu looked around. He didn't see any of the Firbits. "Maybe they're all still in the Carpenterion." He saw bottles of grape juice lined up on a nearby shelf. "I don't think they'll mind if I drink a bottle or two."

He went over to the shelf, grabbed a bottle, opened it up, and took a swig. His eyes opened wide for a moment. "Whoa, that's some strong stuff! Must mean it's working!" He drank the whole bottle and then dropped it on the ground.

"Man, I gotta go tell Max and Monica 'bout this! Gotta take the whole bunch, might want some for later." Gokuu grabbed a nearby towel. He threw all the grape juice bottles into the towel and then folded it up as though it were a bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder.

Gokuu stumbled out the door. He went to Sindain Station, stumbling the whole way, almost falling a few times. He saw Max and Monica leaving Rainbow Butterfly Wood.

Gokuu waved. "'Ey, guys!"

"Gokuu!" Monica said, she and Max both with surprised looks. They ran over to Gokuu. "Gokuu…you look…flushed…"

"What's that mean, flushed down a toilet or somethin'?" Gokuu hiccupped.

"What's in the bag?" Max said.

"Oh, yeah! This grape juice really does make you stronger! So I'd thought I'd give you some…" Gokuu slouched. He looked as though he would fall on the ground at any moment.

"Oh no, he must've drank some!" Monica said. "Max, I'll let him sleep on the train. You do whatever you need to do."

"Thanks again." Max handed Monica the camera. Then, he ran over to the Ridepod and began looking it over carefully.

Monica took Gokuu's hand. "C'mon. We're going on the train."

"We don't need the train," Gokuu said as she led him to the train. "Get on my back, Monica, and I'll take you there ten times faster than the train!"

Monica ignored his offer. She and Gokuu entered the train. Monica sat Gokuu down in the first seat she saw. He slumped against the bag. His eyes looked distant and glassy.

Gokuu looked at Monica and grinned. "'Ey, lemme tell you 'bout the rabbits on the moon and how I beat them up!"

The train began moving. They soon arrived in Palm Brinks. Gokuu's story had lasted the whole trip. He had jumped on the seat. He had also punched the seat once, making a hole. Monica had tried her best to keep him still, but Gokuu was moving around too much.

_I don't want to leave Gokuu alone, _Monica thought. _As much as I don't want to… _She took Gokuu's arm and led him out the train, leaving the bag of grape juice behind. Once they had arrived at the alley where Donny's place was, Monica opened up the manhole that was there. She grabbed the ladder first. When she was a little ways down, she let Gokuu in. She led him down the ladder until they got close to the floor. She lifted him and let his feet touch the ground. Then, she hopped down.

Donny, who was sitting near a campfire, had watched them the whole time. He stood up and went over to them. "Uh, hey there. Where's Max?"

"He's working on the Ridepod." Monica took out the camera. "Max sent us to have you look at these scoops. He said you would give us something…?"

"Yeah, yeah, somethin' good!" Gokuu said. "Said it was s'posed to be—" Monica cupped her hand over Gokuu's mouth—"somethin' good! Like somethin' real expensive! So you need to give us that!"

"Gokuu, hush," Monica said. _Shoot, we could still hear him through my hand. _ She handed Donny the camera.

"I'm still not sure if I can trust you guys," Donny said. "You're hangin' out with Max all the time, and it looks like one of you drinks. I don't want Max to get messed up 'cause of you guys."

"Well, Gokuu getting drunk was an accident," Monica said. "Grape juice… Yeah, right."

Donny held up the camera. "Does this really have the photos Max took?"

"Of course," Monica said, glaring. "What else would they be?"

Donny stared at Monica. Then, he turned on the camera and looked at all the pictures carefully. "These pics are top-notch. I expected nothin' less from Max." He went inside his tent and came out with a diamond. "This is for Max. Er, all of you. Whoever wants to use it." He handed Monica the camera and diamond.

"Thanks a lot," Monica said as she put the camera and diamond in her pouch. She took Gokuu's hand. "We'll be going now."

Donny waved. "See y'all later." _They aren't as bad as I thought they were._

Gokuu wrestled out of Monica's hand. He began walking to Donny, saying, "'Ey, you just gonna give us a little diamond after all our hard work? You can't do that." He grabbed Donny's collar. "I'll beat you up—"Gokuu hiccupped—"man."

"Gokuu…!" Monica growled.

Donny chuckled. That chuckle turned into a laugh. "I don't usually do this 'cause I'm a salesman, and salesmen don't hand out freebies. Salesmen also don't rip their customers off, so, look, I'll give ya somethin' nice. But ya gotta let go of me first."

Gokuu kept his hands on Donny's collar and still glared.

"Gokuu, let go!" Monica said. "Didn't you hear what he just said?"

"Oh, okay." Gokuu let go.

Donny went inside his tent as Monica breathed a sigh of relief. He came out with a ruby.

"Here, this is all yours," Donny said, giving Monica the ruby.

"Thanks," Monica said, putting the ruby in her pouch. "We'll be going." She took Gokuu's hand and looked at his face. His blush was beginning to disappear. They walked to the ladder.

She let Gokuu go up first. Unlike the first time, Gokuu was able to climb by himself. Monica followed him out, and they made their way back to the train.

* * *

"All I could do was repair it," Max said. He was standing in front of the turned-off Ridepod. "I wish I could've given it better parts. This'll have to do for now. Maybe as I get more ideas, I can give it brand new, better parts."

The train rolled up.

"Great, just as I was getting tired." Max ran inside the train.

The Griffon Soldier, who had been sent to spy on Max, jumped out the bushes. He had orders from Griffon to take the voice unit. The Griffon Soldier ran over to the Ridepod, opened it up, and took out the voice unit. Then, it made a time gate to Griffon's time and jumped inside. Hopefully, it wouldn't take long for Griffon to analyze the voice unit, as Max and his allies weren't supposed to know that Griffon and his soldiers were spying on them. Not yet.

* * *

Gokuu felt himself being shaken. "Mmm… Huh?" He sat up. Conda, who was sweating heavily and panting, was in front of him.

"Give us the grape juice."

"Can we keep some? It makes us stronger, y'know."

"No!" Conda yelled. "It's all ours! Maybe we'd be a little nicer if you had asked, but no!"

Gokuu gave him the bag as Max and Monica sat up. Conda looked inside it.

"How many did you drink?"

"One. That's real good juice you got. It made me stronger in an instant!"

"Right. That's all." Conda left the train, the bag slung over his shoulder.

"Let me guess," Monica said. "That 'grape juice?'"

"Yeah," Gokuu said. "That was some great stuff! I'll ask him for more in the morning!"

"Don't. Ever." Monica lay back down and closed her eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Max left the train to check on the Ridepod again. He made sure all the parts were there. All the parts were there, untouched, in the exact same place he had left them in last night.

"Today's the big day!" Cedric said, walking over to him. "Borneo and Erik are fixing up the train for the trip."

"Oh, right," Max said. "We're going to the next area now."

Monica and Gokuu came out of the train and went over to Max and Cedric.

"Do you all have everything ya need?" Cedric said.

Max turned to Monica and Gokuu. They looked at each other and nodded. Max turned back to Cedric and nodded.

"Well, get back in the train, and let's go. I'll take Steve to the front where Borneo and Erik are."

Max, Monica, Gokuu, Cedric, and the Ridepod went inside the train. The train began to move, and they were on their way to a new area.


	12. New

**Chapter Twelve: New**

Max and Monica strengthened their weapons on the train, something they hadn't done in a while. Their weapons were still the same, but they were now stronger and closer to being built up. Gokuu, seeing this, wished he could train, but there was no one he could train with.

"Don't worry," Monica said. "I'm sure that wherever we're going, someone will be able to spar with you."

"Yeah," Gokuu said. "Kamesennin said I should explore the world, but I haven't done much of that. Rainbow Butterfly Wood was the first place I went and then I met you guys, so I dunno where we're going."

"That makes three of us."

"Maybe there'll be monsters there to fight with, too! I'm not friends with any other monsters, so that'll make for better training!"

"My guess is that they're twice as tough compared to the monsters from Rainbow Butterfly Wood."

"Alright!"

The train came to a sudden stop. Max, Monica, and Gokuu were thrown into the seats in front of them.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow…" Monica said as she stood up. She had her hand on her forehead. "What the heck was that?"

"Let's go see," Max said. He led the way out the train. Erik was waiting for them.

"Sorry 'bout the sudden stop, folks," Erik said. "We didn't see those stalactites 'til the last second." He pointed to giant stalactites on the tracks that blocked the train's path. Cedric and Borneo were staring at the rocks. Borneo was scratching his head.

"Want me to move them again?" Gokuu said, winding his arm up.

"Yeah, that'd save us a lot of trouble."

Gokuu ran to the stalactites. He looked around. He spotted the river. He lifted a stalactite and threw it into the river. He did the same with the other stalactites blocking the path.

"All done!" Gokuu said.

"Thanks," Borneo said.

"No problem!" He went back to Max, Monica, and Erik. "Can we keep going now?"

"I don't think so," Monica said. "We're in Balance Valley now."

They were in a cave, but the cave had been converted into a train station. It was similar to the train station in Palm Brinks, save the river and its location.

"This is Balance Valley Station," Monica said. "Balance Valley was also destroyed by Griffon." She, Max, and Gokuu began walking towards the exit that led to the outside. "In the future, Starlight Temple will be built. That's where all the sages gather. And Crest is the master of those sages."

When they got outside, Max flinched, as the sun was in his eyes. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked around. There were six plateaus in the middle of the land. Two of those plateaus were joined with bridges. The other four were like islands. There was a house ahead.

"It looks like some people already live here," he said. "Let's check it out!"

The trio ran to the house. Gokuu opened the door. The house was like a cabin, made entirely of wood, but decorated like a normal house. There was a bed with a purple-haired girl in pigtails sleeping in it. An owl, perched on a stick, flew to the trio.

"Hoo! Hoo! Who are you? Get out!"

"Y-You can talk!" Monica said.

"Why do we need to leave?" Gokuu said.

"Because!" the owl said. "Can't you see I'm busy right now? Out!"

"But you were just sitting there doing nothing. I saw you."

"Out!"

"Hold on, Mr. Owl!" Max said. "Maybe we can help you with something. Like that girl over there. She doesn't look too well."

The girl in the bed was wheezing and sweating. It looked as though she was in a bad dream that she couldn't get out of.

The owl perched itself and looked at the girl. "Yes. Lin… She was Crest's apprentice and has been in shock ever since Crest died trying to protect the Moon Crystal."

_I think I have a hunch who he was trying to protect it from_, Monica thought.

"What's the Moon Crystal?" Gokuu said.

"The Moon Crystal is something that gives the sages their energy," Monica explained. "It's something very important in the future. Let's focus on the present right now, though."

"As for Lin, she needs a housecall from Dr. Dell!" Max said. "He's a doctor in Palm Brinks. I'm sure he'll be able to cure Lin! But he looks like a duck, so don't be surprised when you see him."

"Of course not, Max," Monica said. "I've just seen a talking owl."

"I'll go back to Palm Brinks and get him."

"Oh, please do," the owl said.

"Be right back!" Max ran out the door.

* * *

After half an hour, Max came back in with Dr. Dell. Dr. Dell went over to Lin and examined her carefully.

"Looks like toxic mist," Dr. Dell said. "Unfortunately, there's no cure…"

"No, that can't be true!" the owl said. "I know there's something! Something, anything!"

"And there is."

All eyes were immediately on Monica.

"In the future, there'll be a place called Starlight Temple built. That's where all the sages gather. A place called Lao Chao's Bistro will also be built, and Lao Chao can make miracle dumplings that can cure anything."

"Ah, I get it," Gokuu said. "We go there and he makes us some and we give it to the girl!"

"That's right! But first, we have to rebuild the present."

"What are you waiting for?" the owl said. "Go! Go now!"

"I'll be in the train," Dr. Dell said, opening the door. "Call me if you need anything."

The trio walked out behind the doctor.

* * *

"We do the same thing as we did in Sindain, right?" Max said. The trio was standing outside near the bridge going towards the canyon. "Go to the dungeon, get the Geostones, rebuild?"

Monica nodded. "This time, we're going to Starlight Canyon." She pointed to a path in the distance. "We just have to cross these two bridges. Rebuilding here will be a little different, and I'll explain that after we get the first Geostone."

They entered Starlight Canyon. A Ram was at the entrance. It charged towards Monica and then headbutted her stomach. She flew off the canyon and fell down towards the river.

"Monica!" Max yelled, running to the edge of the canyon. Monica was rapidly falling towards the river.

Gokuu went up to him. "Monica fell? That's not good." Gokuu's body blurred. Then, he disappeared.

Max's eyes widened. "Gokuu…!"

"Huh?"

Max turned around at the direction the voice came from. Gokuu was next to him, Monica in his arms. Max was speechless.

"Thanks, Gokuu," Monica said as Gokuu put her down.

"Uh-huh!"

Monica turned around and, just as she thought, the Ram that had hit her was still there. The Ram charged at Monica again. Max got in the Ram's path and hit it in the forehead with his wrench. The Ram stopped, its eyes becoming glassy as it fell in and out of consciousness. Next, Max shot it with his gun. The Ram fell and disintegrated.

"These monsters don't seem so hard to beat," Max said.

"I wonder what the Gate Key here is?" Monica said. "Gokuu had cut all the trees leading to the next floor in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. What would a monster drop that would lead to the next floor here?"

"There's only one way to find out," Gokuu said, "and that's fighting! Let's go!"

A Masked Tribesman came around the corner and towards them.

"Looks like the monsters are coming to us this time," Monica said. "That's weird."

"It could be because we've been standing here for a long time," Max said.

Gokuu ran towards the Masked Tribesman. He punched it, his fist going through its shield, and sent it off the canyon and into the river below. It left behind Giant Meat. Gokuu picked it up and opened his mouth to eat it.

"Gokuu, wait, don't eat it!" Monica said. She and Max ran over to him. "That could be the Gate Key!"

"This…food?" Gokuu said, cocking his head and raising one eyebrow. "I don't get it."

"I don't either, but let's try to find the exit and see what happens."

Monica found the map, and they made their way towards the exit. The exit was also the location of the Geostone. Some monsters approached them, but a flick of their weapons made them fall over the edge, into the river and to their deaths.

As they came closer to the exit, more and more enemies appeared. They now appeared in groups, giving them more trouble. A group consisting of Masked Tribesmen, Smiling Fairies, and Rams were blocking the exit. The Geostone happened to be near the exit as well.

"This seems familiar," Monica said. "Well, at least it's not like that going away party we got in Rainbow Butterfly Wood."

"C'mon, let's go!" Gokuu charged towards the group of monsters. Max and Monica did as well.

Max's Smash Wrench clashed against a Ram's hammer. One other Ram put its hammer on the hammer that was directly on Max's wrench. Another Ram put its hammer on the second Ram's hammer, making a stack of three hammers. The Rams pushed against Max's Smash Wrench with all their strength, and Max pushed back with all his strength. However, Max was overpowered. His Smash Wrench flew out of his hand and slid close to the edge of the canyon. It looked as though if it was blown on it would fall.

Max fell on the ground, and the Rams began to bash him with their hammers and stomp on him. This went on until Max stopped a Ram's foot with both hands. He threw that Ram into the other two Rams, sending them all off the cliff. However, a Ram's foot caught the Smash Wrench, and the Smash Wrench fell down the cliff.

"No…!" Max ran to the edge to try and catch it but, as he was running, he tripped over a rock and fell off the canyon.

"Max!" Monica yelled. But she wasn't in a position to be worrying about others, as a Smiling Fairy had its dagger up to her neck while four other Smiling Fairies had her pinned down by her arms and legs. The Smiling Fairy with its dagger to her neck touched her neck lightly and watched the blood trickle down.

Meanwhile, Gokuu fought against the Masked Tribesmen. He punched through the mouth in a Tribesman's mask, but before his fist could reach the Tribesman's face, the mask bit down on Gokuu's arm.

"Ow, ow! Get off! That hurts, damn it!" Gokuu tried to pull his hand out. Instead, he ended up dragging the Masked Tribesman towards him. The other Masked Tribesmen grabbed their comrade's arms and pulled the opposite way.

"Man, you guys are strong," Gokuu said as he pulled. "You weren't this strong before. Why are you so strong now?"

Gokuu lifted them up into the air and then slammed them as hard as he could into the ground near the edge. The ground cracked and then broke, sending the Masked Tribesmen, along with rocks, down towards the river.

Max, who was falling down with both arms outstretched to catch his Smash Wrench, felt a sharp pain in his head. He looked up. There were three Masked Tribesmen and countless rocks falling towards him. He looked at his wrench. It was within grabbing distance. He took it and hit the falling rocks, breaking them. He also hit the Masked Tribesmen in their sides, redirecting their path away from him.

Max looked at the river. He was falling towards a rock that was the size of a small island. He'd break some of his bones if he hit the island while falling at his current speed.

* * *

Monica used all her strength to throw the Smiling Fairies holding her down off her. The Smiling Fairy with its dagger up to her neck looked back and stared, wide-eyed, at its comrades flying into the distance. Monica used this opportunity to punch the Smiling Fairy in the face. It fell on its back from the force of the punch. It immediately got up and ran towards Monica, its dagger outstretched.

Monica's sword clashed against its dagger, and sparks flew. They separated, Monica and the Fairy both backflipping. Monica made her move first, running towards the Fairy. She threw her sword towards the Fairy's shoulder as though she were going to stab it. The Smiling Fairy put its dagger in front of its shoulder to guard. Then, Monica changed the course of her sword and aimed at its neck. The Smiling Fairy had no time to react, and it was beheaded.

Monica looked at Gokuu. He had finished with his enemies as well. They ran towards the edge of the canyon. Max was close to hitting the river.

"Kintoun!" Gokuu yelled. Kintoun was by his side in an instant. "Go get Max!"

"Hurry!" Monica added. "It looks like he's about to hit a rock!"

Max outstretched the hand holding his Smash Wrench to try and stop his fall. He came closer and closer to the rock, and he knew he would hit it for sure. He saw a white blur, and the next thing he knew, he was in the air, riding on Kintoun.

Kintoun flew him towards Monica and Gokuu. When Kintoun stopped, he got off.

"Thanks, Kintoun," Gokuu said. "You can go now."

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Kintoun," Max said, waving as Kintoun flew away. "I'd be toast if it wasn't for you."

"Now we have to worry about the Gate Key," Monica said.

"Yeah," Gokuu said, taking out the Giant Meat. He lifted it over his head and examined it. He began to drool. "If this isn't the Gate Key, can I eat it?"

A condor flew over Max and Monica and picked up the Giant Meat with its talons, also picking up Gokuu. Max grabbed Gokuu's feet, and Monica grabbed Max's feet.

"I hope he's taking us to the next floor!" Monica yelled as the condor flew them away.


	13. Flight

**Chapter Thirteen: Flight**

The condor flew as if it were going nowhere. Gokuu held on tightly to the Giant Meat the condor's talons held, and Max held on to Gokuu's ankles, and Monica held on to Max's ankles.

"It shouldn't take this long to get to the next floor," Monica said. "The next floor should be right next to the previous one."

"But if it's a different dungeon," Max said, "then maybe it takes longer to get from one floor to the next."

"That's true. But we've been flying for over half an hour now, and flight is one of the fastest ways of transportation."

"Maybe the condor's slow," Gokuu said. The condor shook its talons aggressively, and the trio shook with them.

"Don't make the condor mad," Monica said, her head pounding. "Please, Gokuu. We have no idea how to get to the next floor, but this condor does." She paused. "On the other hand, it might _not _know how to get to the next floor." She thought about the time she was caught and almost eaten by Tigriffs in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. "And it could be planning to eat us along with the Giant Meat."

"Don't worry," Max said, smiling. "I'm sure the condor knows its way around here. It lives here, after all. And it has no reason to eat us if we've already given it food." He felt something cold and hard hit his cheek. The force of the impact made him swerve, his hands slipping from Gokuu's ankles.

Max turned his head towards the direction the attack came from, but saw nothing. He looked at Gokuu and then at Monica while saying, "Did you guys see that? Something just attacked me. It felt like ice." He regained his grip on Gokuu's ankles.

"From all the way up here?" Monica said. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Well, we _are _defenseless, so it's the ideal time for monsters to attack us."

"We're not defenseless," Gokuu said. "Kintoun!" The cloud seemed to appear by their side and easily kept up with the condor. "Hold on tight!" Gokuu let go of the Giant Meat. Kintoun flew below them, and they fell on the cloud.

Gokuu took a big breath. "Come out, monsters! Come on and try to attack us now!"

Nothing happened. The condor still flew in front of them, Kintoun following it.

"They gotta be hiding!" Gokuu said, looking around. "But where?"

Suddenly, Fire and Ice Gemrons surrounded them.

"Not _again,_" Monica said. "Do we actually do anything to these monsters, or do they just attack us to be attacking us?"

"I have no problem with it," Gokuu said, grinning.

"Of course _you_ don't. Besides, you can wipe these guys out with your Nyoi-bo."

"That's too easy. I wanna fight them fist-to-fist!" Gokuu jumped off Kintoun and punched an Ice Gemron in the face. The Gemron rolled back, but managed to regain its balance. It wasn't bruised and looked more angry than hurt.

Gokuu landed on a Fire Gemron. The Fire Gemron shook itself wildly to try and throw Gokuu off, but Gokuu held his balance.

Monica's eyes widened. "It wasn't affected by Gokuu's punch?" She took a step forward and got a closer look at the Gemrons: There were scales covering the majority of their bodies. "Their scales look tough, but I'm sure they have a weak spot somewhere. We have to find it, Max!"

"Right!" Max jumped off Kintoun and hit an Ice Gemron's back with his wrench. The Gemron didn't show any signs of being hurt and hit Max in his back with its tail. Max slid backwards and almost fell off the Gemron.

Monica looked down at Kintoun. "Kintoun, I'm about to jump off of you. If any of us fall down and can't seem to grab onto anything to stop our fall, save us, okay?" She paused. "I…can't believe I just talked to a _cloud._" She jumped off Kintoun and landed on an Ice Gemron. The Ice Gemron began to hit her in her legs with its tail repeatedly.

Balls of fire and ice flew towards her. She guarded. However, she saw the fire and ice being absorbed into her Crystal Brassard. Fire got absorbed first, but when ice got absorbed, it would cancel out the fire. Monica didn't know what this power was, but she didn't want to risk anything when they were already in a risky situation.

The Ice Gemron's tail came up again to hit her, but she hit it with her Shamshir first. Her sword sliced through its tail a little, but the Gemron didn't flinch. It kept trying to hit Monica with its tail, but Monica kept hitting its tail with her Shamshir. Monica got hit with ice in her back, and she flinched. The distraction made her drop her sword towards the Gemron's tail. The Gemron caught the sword with its tail and then threw its tail up with all its strength. The Shamshir sliced Monica in her stomach.

Monica stumbled back, the world around her fading in and out. She tried to keep her footing, but she ended up losing it as her left foot touched nothing. Her right foot followed suit, and she fell.

* * *

Max was standing on an Ice Gemron, guarding against the red and blue spheres that came towards him. Once the barrage had stopped for a moment, he shot the Gemrons with his Jurak Gun. Every time one Gemron was killed, the barrage began, and he had to guard again.

The Gemron he was standing on hit him repeatedly with its tail. Max was able to guard against this, too, as the barrage of spheres and the Gemron's tail came at him at the same time and stopped at the same time, as all the Gemrons got tired. Not very strategic.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Monica falling, but Kintoun below to catch her. A Gemron got between her and Kintoun and hit her in her stomach with its tail. Another Gemron hit her in the back with its tail, starting a game of human ping pong.

The Gemron Max was standing on shook itself wildly, and Max fell. He balanced himself so he was falling feet-first. He landed on another Gemron. This time, he jumped off the Gemron, stomping on it in the process, and landed on another Gemron. He stomped on that Gemron and landed on another Gemron. He continued to do this until he realized that his stomps weren't knocking them out since their scales were so thick and tough.

Max stuck his gun straight out in front of him. While he jumped from Gemron to Gemron, he shot other Gemrons, knocking them out one by one. Red and blue spheres were shot but, since Max never stayed still, they all missed.

He got around to the two Gemrons who were playing ping pong with Monica. He shot them. The Gemrons began to fall, and Monica fell safely on Kintoun, resting like she was in bed and as though nothing was happening around her. Kintoun flew into the distance, and Max assumed that it was taking her somewhere safe and would bring Monica back to them when the fighting was over. _That's one smart cloud, _he thought, smiling.

Max, still jumping from Gemron to Gemron, looked at Gokuu. Gokuu was also jumping from Gemron to Gemron, punching and kicking the Gemrons rapidly in their stomachs while doing so. Those Gemrons spiraled downward, disintegrating as they fell. He was having an easy time against the monsters and enjoying it, as he was smiling cockily.

Max's eyes widened. _Their stomach…! _Max hit a nearby Gemron its stomach with his Smash Wrench, and its eyes rolled back. It began to fall but, before it could reach the river, it disintegrated. He knew that the Gemrons had a weak spot, and he was glad Gokuu had found it. However, Max didn't try to find the weak spot; he was reckless and hit the Gemrons wherever he wanted to. He had to think more while in battle, testing for weaknesses and becoming a smart fighter, like Gokuu. Max respected Gokuu's cleverness when it came to fighting. Fighting-wise, Max had someone to look up to.

* * *

When all the Gemrons were gone, Max and Gokuu hopped on the condor's back. Kintoun came back to them, carrying a conscious Monica. Her shirt was ripped where she had gotten sliced, and there was a gash that had stopped bleeding, but was dark red. Monica stayed on Kintoun, Kintoun following the condor to the next floor.

The condor dropped Max and Gokuu off at the second floor.

"Bye, Mr. Condor!" Max yelled, waving.

"Yeah, thanks!" Gokuu yelled.

"We appreciate it!" Monica yelled.

They watched the condor until it became a speck and then disappeared.

"Let's go back to Balance Valley," Monica said. "We fought a lot of monsters today…" She looked down at her stomach. "Well, at least you two did. It could be trouble if you overworked yourselves and kept going."

Max and Gokuu nodded and then climbed on Kintoun. They began making their way back to Balance Valley.

* * *

"…so, in order for Starlight Temple to be completed, those plateaus all need to be the same height, got it?" Monica said. Max and Gokuu nodded. They were inside the Carpenterion, looking at the biggest of the Carpenterion's monitors, which showed them the four plateaus and their heights, which were balanced because they were empty. Monica had finished explaining how to rebuild Balance Valley and, eventually, Starlight Temple. They had to be careful what buildings they put down, or else the plateaus wouldn't be the same height and Starlight Temple couldn't be completed.

Max put the Geostone into the reactor. The condition that came up was "All plateaus must be the same height."

"Nothing on immigrants yet," Monica said. "Let's rest for the night and continue in the morning. Besides, I need to patch up this scar of mine and my shirt."

The trio left the Carpenterion and went in the train station. They were walking towards the train when Erik said, "Look!"

The trio stopped and looked towards Erik's voice. Erik was standing in front of a pillar, Cedric and Borneo walking towards him.

"What's up?" Max said as he, Monica, and Gokuu walked towards the pillar.

"There's a poster here," Erik said. "It says, 'Tenkaichi Budoukai: Warrior's Division.'"

"Let me see!" Gokuu said. Erik moved aside. He walked closer to the poster and examined it for a moment. "It'll be held in three months! Alright, I'm gonna enter! …But what does 'Warrior's Division' mean?"

"Maybe people who wield swords, like I do," Monica said.

"What's this Tenkaichi Budoukai?" Max asked.

"It's this tournament where you fight and see who's strongest!" Gokuu said. "It's a lot of fun! You should enter, Monica, since you're the only one who uses a sword."

Monica bent forward and took a closer look at the poster. "This is only for people who wield weapons all the time, like Max and I. It doesn't matter what type of weapon it is. Gokuu, you can enter, too, if you use your Nyoi-bo. But all you have to do is hit someone in the face and send them flying to win. It won't be too fun if you dominate everyone like that, will it? I mean, I know Max and I can't win against you, and I'm sure a lot of people there will use more skill than strength."

Gokuu averted his eyes. "Yeah, I guess. I'm not really used to fighting with just my Nyoi-bo, anyway. I usually use my fists and such. But I'll stay out of this tournament."

They went in the train. Max and Gokuu lay down on the benches and fell asleep while Monica began to bandage her scar.

* * *

As the trio entered the second floor the next morning, Max remembered his mother caring for him when he was sick. He was worried that he was going to die and urged his mother to call a priest. But the priest wasn't in Palm Brinks that day, and—

"Watch out!"

Max was knocked onto his back. He sat up and shot the Ram, killing it.

"Sorry, I zoned out for a second," Max said as he stood up. Monica and Gokuu were both fighting off Masked Tribesmen.

No Gemrons were in sight.

Max joined in, shooting the Masked Tribesmen from behind. These Masked Tribesmen were considerably harder to defeat than the Masked Tribesmen on the previous floor, but they managed to defeat them.

They continued to dungeon crawl, defeating all the monsters that got in their way, gathering Geostones, and took breaks after every floor. They encountered more Gemrons, but defeated them all easily now that they knew what their weak spot was.

After getting through the fourth floor, Gokuu held up the Giant Meat. The condor came and picked the Meat up, also picking up Gokuu. Max grabbed Gokuu's feet, and Monica grabbed Max's feet. They flew through the air. No monsters had attacked them during flight since they had flown in the area between the first and second floors.

Max hit a wall. The condor and Gokuu continued to fly forward, but Gokuu turned around and saw Max with his body pressed to a wall, red encompassing the area where Max's body was. He slid down the wall. Monica went down with him, saying, "Why aren't these walls always visible?"

Gokuu called Kintoun. Kintoun came out of nowhere and flew below Max and Monica, catching them. The fifth floor was blocked by a Red Seal, and Max had to stay behind. Monica and Gokuu ran into the sealed floor, ready to face more monsters.


	14. The Elephant Army

**Chapter Fourteen: The Elephant Army**

The Griffon Soldiers bent down onto one knee. The three of them were all in a row. Griffon paced back and forth in front of them. He stopped in front of the Soldier in the middle.

"Report," Griffon said.

"Yes, sir…" the Griffon Soldier replied. "Voice unit analysis…completed…"

"Good. Go back 100 years and gather as many machine monsters as you can. All of you."

"Yes, sir…" the three Griffon Soldiers replied in unison. One of them put out its hand. A blue time gate appeared, and the Griffon Soldiers walked inside.

* * *

Max watched Monica and Gokuu run down the path. Once they turned the corner and disappeared from his sight, he sat down on the edge of the cliff. He hadn't had time lately to sit down and think.

But he didn't think. Instead, his head was empty, and he zoned out. He found himself subconsciously tapping his index finger, and his finger began to throb. He stopped and held it in front of his eyes. It was red and swollen.

_The ground's so hard and bumpy… _he thought. _I don't know how I didn't know I was doing this._

He stood up to stop himself from hurting his finger more. He looked at the path Monica and Gokuu had run down. He was beginning to not like having to sit down and wait while Monica and Gokuu did the work for him, even though this was only the second time they had encountered a Red Seal. He knew it wasn't his fault, but he wanted to get stronger while Monica and Gokuu were getting stronger. Max knew he had a lot of flaws to work out, and so he called Kintoun and went out to train.

* * *

Monica sliced the Elfas' trunk. The Elfas roared and then fell on its side. It had multiple cuts on its body, all from Monica's Shamshir. It disintegrated.

She looked at Gokuu and the Golem. The Golem threw a punch at Gokuu. Gokuu held out his hands and caught the punch. The force of the impact made him slide backwards. He released one of his hands from the Golem's fist and knocked the fist away. The Golem's arm came off. The Golem stared at the arm flying into the distance, as did Monica. Gokuu jumped forward, his fist thrust in front of him, charging towards the center of the Golem. The Golem looked down, and Gokuu went through it. The Golem was blown to bits, and it disintegrated.

Monica and Gokuu ran around another corner. A Holy Gemron was lying on the ground in the middle of the path. They ran up to the Gemron. It looked as though it was hanging onto life by a single thread. It was panting heavily, and its eyes were half-closed.

"What's wrong?" Gokuu said.

"…your fault," the Gemron said.

"Huh?"

"Just a second," Monica said. She ran around the corner they had just come around and transformed into a Himarra. Then, she ran back to Gokuu and the Gemron. Even though she thought she was going to gain more knowledge about monsters and know what the monster that lay before them was, she didn't. She assumed it was only for the plant family and the monsters the Himarra lived around.

"…your fault," the Gemron repeated.

"What's our fault?" Monica said.

The Gemron's eyes opened completely. It was as though a breath of life had been breathed into it. It looked up at Monica. "_Our _fault? You mean you, a fellow monster, were a part of it as well?" The Gemron tried to get up, but fell back on the ground. It looked Monica in the eyes.

"W-Well…" Monica averted her gaze from the Gemron, staring at the river below them instead. She couldn't think of an excuse. Would her disguise as a monster be blown this early?

"You mean that time we fought all those monsters while we were flying, right?" Gokuu said.

The Gemron looked at Gokuu. "Yes, I saw it all… Me and some other Gemrons managed to get away before you got us, though." It looked back at Monica. "But, you…"

"It's not what it looks like!" Monica said, trying her best not to sound desperate. She pointed at Gokuu. "This human made me do it!"

Gokuu looked at Monica with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

Monica mouthed "Play along" to Gokuu. Gokuu's mouth made an "O" shape. He nodded and looked at the Gemron again.

"I was being held captive by this human, and he told me he wanted to exterminate all the Gemrons," Monica continued. "I don't know why he wanted to, but I told him that Gemrons usually live high in the air—"she hoped that was true—"so I suppose it would be my fault, too.

"We had gotten a condor to take us to the next area because we didn't know our way around—I'm from Rainbow Butterfly Wood, and humans don't live around here. But I have been here before once a long time ago, and I've seen Gemrons high in the air. Anyway, when you Gemrons ambushed us, as was expected, those three humans fought you all. They still haven't let me go." She was praying that her excuse would work.

The Gemron looked at Gokuu. "But this 'human' right here isn't human. And you say he took you captive?" It looked around. "And where'd that other human who was here a moment ago leave to?"

The Gemron was now referring to Monica, who had left and transformed into a Himarra a moment ago.

"She went to go get the other human who helped us," Gokuu said. He usually didn't lie, but this was an emergency, and Monica had given him the O.K. "And I _am _human."

"But you smell like something else," the Gemron said. "You're closer to a monster than a human. But you do indeed _look _human. Strange."

_Maybe that's why Gokuu can always talk to monsters, _Monica thought. _I didn't think he was human, with him having a tail and all. I've never seen anyone with a tail walking around before, and the only race I know besides human is the Moon race. That _is_ weird._

The Gemron blinked. "Hm. Well, you really did exterminate almost all the Gemrons."

"_Almost _all?" Gokuu said, trying to sound angry.

"The Elfas… They took care of the rest. I'm the only Gemron left, and it's your fault, too. You had already killed most of us, but the Elfas finished us off…" The Gemron closed its eyes. "It got many other types of monsters as well…"

"We'll avenge you guys!"

The Gemron half-opened its eyes and looked at Gokuu. Monica abruptly looked at Gokuu.

"I feel bad for what me and the other humans did, so we'll make it up to you!" He made a fist and held it in front of his face. "If these Elfas are really so destructive, then we'll avenge you for it!"

The Holy Gemron closed its eyes. "Thank you…so much…" It disintegrated.

Monica de-transformed. She stared at the spot the Gemron had disintegrated in. "I'm really sorry for what we did, but we had no idea that area was monster territory. It never came across my mind that the Gemrons were just protecting their homes. But, even so, they attacked us first, even though we had no intention to attack them, and we had to defend ourselves." She looked at Gokuu. "Let's take care of these Elfas, Gokuu!"

"Right!"

Monica and Gokuu began running, hoping that they could defeat this powerful elephant army.

* * *

Max was in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. He had just encountered a Tigriff. The Tigriff was practically invincible to his wrench and gun, so he had to find its weak spot, if it had one. Max hoped it did, or else he'd be in trouble, as he didn't have any Escape Powder. The Ridepod was all the way in Balance Valley, and the device to call it wouldn't reach it from Rainbow Butterfly Wood. Hopefully, soon, he could tweak the Ridepod-calling device so it could reach the Ridepod anywhere it was.

The Tigriff kicked Max in the face. Max flew backwards and then rolled on the ground. He got back up immediately. The Tigriff began charging towards him as though it were a bull. Max shot it in its leg. The Tigriff continued to run towards Max. Max wanted to run away, but his legs wouldn't listen to him. The Tigriff jumped and hovered above him.

Max was in awe, as the sight was beautiful. The Tigriff was silhouetted by the sun, and it looked like a beast found only in fairy tales. Fairy tales reminded him of his mother, as his mother used to read him these fairy tales. He was glad that he was on an adventure that was like a fairy tale. But, if it was a fairy tale, were these events even taking place? Max didn't know, and that was a question for another day. But right now, the Tigriff looked like a legendary bird, with its beady eyes and silhouetted body.

And then it fell on top of him.

And then Max blacked out.

* * *

"Seems like those Elfas overheard our conversation with that Gemron," Monica said.

"Uh-huh," Gokuu said, winding his arm up and grinning.

In front of them was a seemingly endless amount of Elfas. They were glaring at Monica and Gokuu.

"But they keep staring at us," Gokuu said. "If they want to fight, they should just say so."

"I'd love to get the jump on them first," Monica said, "but with all these elephants, we'd just get swatted away like flies." She took a step backward. The Elfas took a step forward in unison. "Looks like we can't get away, either."

"Let's test them, then!" Gokuu ran towards the elephants and then disappeared. He reappeared at the back of the elephant army, his Nyoi-bo in hand. He hit an Elfas in the side. The Elfas fell on the ground, but threw its trunk at Gokuu, hitting Gokuu in his stomach and sending him flying into the rock wall. The wall cracked, and Gokuu fell inside the wall a little.

"I-I think this'll be harder than I thought…" Gokuu said, his eyes clouding up.

* * *

Max was in the Underground Channel, completely recovered from the Tigriff crushing him in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. Luckily, its lightweight wing was the only thing that crushed him. Also, no monster had picked him up, as he had been in the exact same spot he was in when the Tigriff crushed him, and he was able to safely travel back to Palm Brinks using Kintoun. If he couldn't handle the monsters in Rainbow Butterfly Wood, then there was no way he could handle the monsters in Balance Valley and later dungeons, so he decided to start from square one.

He knew there were Mimics on this particular floor, as this was a floor deep inside the Channel. He was trying to encounter one. He went around opening all the treasure chests he came across, finding various Georama materials. He zoned out, mindlessly opening the chests, as he thought, _I wonder who puts these chests down here. Did someone come here before me? _

Max instinctively backflipped, frightened. He didn't land well and fell. He had opened a chest that had turned out to be a Mimic, and he had gotten into the habit of backflipping whenever he opened a Mimic chest.

_I need to find its weakness, _Max thought, standing up. He was determined to be a more strategic fighter. _Something tells me that the inside of its mouth will be the best place to attack it. But I can't just run up to it. _

The Mimic began running to Max, its tongue out and lapping at the air. Max aimed his Jurak Gun at the Mimic's mouth, but it turned out he had aimed too high and ended up shooting the Mimic between its eyes. The Mimic keeled over, its eyes completely white and its tongue on the ground.

Max slowly walked towards the Mimic. When Max was within inches of the Mimic, the Mimic's tongue lashed out and wrapped around Max.

"Darn…" Max said. "I…should've known…" The tongue was crushing him, making it hard for him to speak. His legs were the only part of his body that was free. He kicked the Mimic in the mouth. The Mimic made a screeching noise and let Max go. Max's ears were hurting, but he ignored the pain and shot the Mimic in the mouth with his Jurak Gun. The Mimic made the screeching noise again. It keeled over again. Max stayed where he was. It disintegrated.

Max breathed a sigh of relief. _So this is why Monica and Gokuu always defeat their monsters before me, _Max thought. _I'm glad I saw Gokuu fighting that day. I'll try and keep this up._

And with that, Max left the sewers and went outside. He called Kintoun and made his way back to Starlight Canyon.

* * *

Monica and Gokuu had never prepared for the day they would have to fight without the Ridepod, and now they regretted it. The Elfas were in sync with each other, working very well as a team.

Monica found this out when she tried to slice off an Elfas' trunk. Another Elfas hit her in her side with its trunk, sending her into the wall next to the hole Gokuu was buried in. Gokuu got out of his hole as soon as Monica was dug into hers, and he took out his Nyoi-bo.

"Bo, extend!"

The Nyoi-bo extended towards the Elfas. Before the Nyoi-bo could get in hitting distance of the Elfas, however, the Elfas jumped to two different sides, letting the Nyoi-bo hit air. Gokuu swung his Nyoi-bo towards the right side, but those Elfas jumped over it. He swung the Nyoi-bo in a circle, but all the Elfas jumped over it.

Gokuu let his Nyoi-bo go back to its original size and then sheathed it. He ran towards the Elfas and then disappeared. He reappeared on top of an Elfas, grabbed its trunk, and began to flip it over. Another Elfas let its trunk wrap around the Elfas that Gokuu had grabbed. Gokuu was forced to stop, as the Elfas was too strong for him. The Elfas that had Gokuu had grabbed threw Gokuu off the cliff. Gokuu grabbed the edge before he could fall.

"Kintoun!" he yelled. Kintoun came and flew below him. He let go of the cliff and fell onto Kintoun. He flew to where Monica, who had just gotten out of the hole, was. She climbed onto Kintoun.

"Gokuu, I think we should leave," Monica said as Kintoun flew high above the Elfas so that they couldn't reach them. "There's no way we can defeat these elephants the way we are now."

"Yeah, I think so, too," Gokuu said. Kintoun began flying them back to the beginning of the floor. "Those elephants are really strong! We should get stronger, too!"

"I don't think it's just about getting stronger this time. Did you see how…in sync all those elephants were?"

"Huh?"

"They were working together as a team. That's something you, Max and I lack—teamwork."

"Now that I think about it, we really haven't worked together before, have we? And we can be so much stronger if we work together, right? Let's do it, then!"

Kintoun flew off into the distance. Max, Monica, and Gokuu had their flaws set out in front of them. All they had to do was improve.


	15. As a Team

**Chapter Fifteen: As a Team**

"Okay, we need to think of a plan," Monica said. "Together."

Max and Gokuu nodded. The trio was inside the Carpenterion, thinking of how they should go about fighting as a team. They had already put the Geostones they had acquired in the reactor and had been told that they needed to place fifteen trees on the plateaus. They were now focusing on the current task of working together.

"But if we're actually battling," Gokuu said, "then how will we know what to plan?"

"Good point," Monica said. "But we can still think of some scenarios. Those elephants, for example. There are simply too many of them to fight alone, so we'll need the Ridepod. Max, can the Ridepod get to the different floors in Starlight Canyon?"

"Yeah," Max replied. "It's waterproof, so it can ride through the valley and then run up the walls to wherever we are."

"Good. And it can control itself, right?"

"Yup. But we still need to work together, don't we?"

"Yeah, or else we'll get slaughtered, even with the Ridepod. Let's see, if an elephant's trunk wraps around one of us, the other two will try to make the elephant's trunk unusable. I'm sure you two can crush the elephant's trunk if I'm the one who gets wrapped, and I can cut off the trunk if you two get wrapped. And if all three of us get wrapped, I'm sure the Ridepod can save us. Understand?"

"Yeah," Max and Gokuu said at the same time.

"We'll do what you did, Max, and start from square one."

"Okay." Max stood up. "To the Underground Channel!"

* * *

A Sewer Rat ran up to Gokuu. Gokuu punched it in the stomach, and it hit the wall, making a dent, and then slid down the wall and into the water.

"That was easy," Gokuu said. "Are you sure we need to train here?"

"Yeah," Max said. "Hopefully, some of the monsters'll come together so we can try working as a team."

"That's right," Monica said. "Remember, Gokuu, we aren't here for the sole purpose of getting stronger. We're here to learn how to work as a team."

"Ah, okay," Gokuu said.

Max's wish for the monsters to come together was quickly granted. The trio turned the corner, and there was a large group of monsters blocking their path.

"Help each other out," Monica said. "Don't forget that."

Max and Gokuu nodded. The trio charged towards the army of monsters, and the monsters charged towards the trio. Gokuu jumped high in the air, ending up behind a Froggy. He punched it in its back, sending it crashing into other monsters. The other monsters crashed into Max and then Monica, sending them into the wall. The monsters that ended up in the wall disintegrated. Max, who was on top of Monica, fell facefirst into the water, his hat rolling off. Monica fell on top of him. Monica immediately lifted her head and said, "Gokuu…!" through clenched teeth.

Gokuu grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I guess I don't know my own strength. You guys coulda got outta the way, though."

Monica relaxed. "You're right. We need to be faster and more observant."

Max, still pressed into the ground, lifted his finger and said in a muffled voice, "Let's go to Starlight Canyon so this doesn't happen again."

"Agreed."

Gokuu helped Max and Monica up, and they began walking towards the exit.

* * *

"All machine monsters in this era…are now under our control," the Griffon Soldier said. It and two other Griffon Soldiers were bowing down in front of Emperor Griffon in the foyer of the Moon Flower Palace. "We've also improved on the boy's invention a little…making it so no remote control is required…"

Griffon nodded. "Good. What else?"

"We've also made it so Stamina Drinks…we've made it so its effects are permanent. Unfortunately, we were only able to make so many…but it was enough for the whole army…"

"I'm glad. We'll commence soon, but not now." Griffon looked in his crystal ball, seeing Max, Monica, and Gokuu riding on Kintoun. For a split second, his eyes softened. Then, they returned to their usual hardness. "I'd like to watch them a little longer."

* * *

"Okay, not only are the monsters strong here," Monica said, "but they work together, too. We'll get a good workout here."

"Yeah, I can't wait," Gokuu said, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Here they come!" Max said. Sure enough, there were Masked Tribesmen, Smiling Fairies, and Rams walking towards the trio. "We won't have as much trouble as we did last time! Let's go!"

The trio ran towards the monsters, and the monsters charged towards them. Max and Monica raised their weapons, preparing for impact.

Once they reached each other, the fight began. Max hit a Ram on the head. The Ram's eyes became cloudy, and the Ram stumbled in all directions. Max kicked the Ram, sending it towards the cliff. A Smiling Fairy stepped in the Ram's path and stopped the Ram using its bare hands. It slid backwards a little, and a few rocks fell into the water, but it managed to keep the Ram from falling over the edge of the canyon.

The Smiling Fairy put the Ram down and made it eat an herb. The herb cleared the Ram's eyes, and the Ram glared at Max.

"Uh-oh…" Max muttered.

The Ram charged towards Max at full speed. The Smiling Fairy, suddenly behind Max, grabbed Max's hands and legs and held him in place. Monica appeared, stabbing the Ram with her Shamshir. As she did this, Gokuu punched the Smiling Fairy in its side, sending it and Max flying towards the cliff. Gokuu jumped after them and grabbed Max. He wrenched Max from the Fairy's grip and then landed safely on the ground. He and Max watched the Fairy fall down the cliff.

"We're not done yet!" Monica yelled. Gokuu put Max down, and they both turned around. Monica was trying to fight off two Rams and a Masked Tribesmen. Max and Gokuu ran towards her to help, but Max was grabbed and forcefully turned around while Gokuu was tripped. Gokuu caught himself with his hand before he fell and continued to run towards Monica. The Smiling Fairy that had tripped Gokuu ran after him. Max extended his arm, putting his wrench in the Fairy's path. The Fairy's face hit the wrench hard. The dazed Fairy stood where it was and stared into space. Max lifted his wrench and then swung it towards the Fairy. The Masked Tribesman that had turned Max around threw its mask aside and grabbed the wrench. Max pushed down on the Masked Tribesman as the Masked Tribesman pushed against Max. As he did this, Max slowly withdrew his Jurak Gun and aimed it at the Masked Tribesman. He pulled the trigger. The blue beam went through the Masked Tribesman, and the monster fell to ground and disintegrated.

The Smiling Fairy was conscious again. It held up its dagger and swiped at Max. Max hit the dagger with his wrench, breaking the dagger's blade in half. Max then kicked the Smiling Fairy off the cliff. Nothing was there to save it, and it fell into the water and disintegrated.

Meanwhile, Gokuu and Monica were fighting off the Rams and Masked Tribesman. Before Gokuu had gotten to her, Monica was on the ground guarding with her arms while the Rams hit her repeatedly with their clubs. The Masked Tribesman held her down and egged the Rams on.

Gokuu caught both the Rams' clubs with one hand each. Monica, badly bruised, stabbed the Masked Tribesman behind her, but she had forgotten about its mask. Her sword bounced off the Masked Tribesman and landed a ways away. Monica turned around. The Masked Tribesman used its mask to bite her. Monica managed to guard by crossing her arms across her face, but the mask's teeth ripped into her flesh, leaving deep gashes on her arms. Monica ignored the intense pain and tried to run behind the Masked Tribesman, but the Masked Tribesman followed her steps. She had to get that mask away, but she didn't know how.

Gokuu, who was still pushing against the Rams' clubs, looked at Monica out of the corner of his eye, seeing her without her sword and struggling against the Masked Tribesman. He had to fight these Rams off quickly before Monica got even more hurt. He let go of the Rams' clubs and leaped away while still facing the Rams. The Rams charged towards him. He hit the Rams in the stomach at the same time with his fists, knocking the wind out of them. He screwed his fists into the Rams' bodies. Then, he withdrew his fists and punched the Rams to the ground. He stomped on the Rams repeatedly as hard as he could, making the ground crack. When the Rams had had enough, they disintegrated.

Gokuu looked at Monica and the Masked Tribesman. Monica was running in circles while still facing the Masked Tribesman, and the Masked Tribesman was following her steps. Monica was bleeding so heavily that she was about to fall unconscious.

Gokuu looked around for her sword. He saw it, grabbed it, and threw it to Monica, yelling, "Monica, catch!" Monica looked towards Gokuu's direction and saw the sword coming towards her. She grabbed it. Monica began to deflect the Masked Tribesman's advances with its mask. As she did this, Gokuu ran towards the Masked Tribesman. He punched its mask, breaking it in half.

"I'll take care of this, Gokuu," Monica said. She had a look of lust in her eyes—a lust to defeat the Masked Tribesman.

Gokuu got out of their way.

Monica threw her sword towards the Masked Tribesman. The Masked Tribesman guarded, but her sword stabbed its arm and continued going through. Before the sword could reach its body, it pulled the sword out of its arm and then jumped back. Monica used her Crystal Brassard to send fireballs its way. The Masked Tribesman also guarded against this, but was still burnt. Monica sent a few more fireballs towards it. As the fireballs made its way towards the Masked Tribesman, Monica ran towards the Masked Tribesman. She ran behind it. The Masked Tribesman pivoted on its feet to meet her, but the fireballs hit it, making the Masked Tribesman flinch. For the split second that the Masked Tribesman was flinching, Monica slashed the Masked Tribesman diagonally in its stomach. The Masked Tribesman stood where it was, slack-jawed and its eyes rolling back. It fell onto Monica. Monica caught it. It disintegrated.

Monica looked in her bag. She pulled out a bandage roll, wrapped bandages around both arms, tore off the roll, and knotted the bandages. Max and Gokuu walked over to her. She looked up at them and stood up.

"I'm fine," she said, smiling. Then, she thought, _Luckily, I didn't lose too much blood. _

Gokuu called Kintoun. The trio climbed on, with Gokuu in the front, Max behind him, and Monica behind Max, with Monica with her hands wrapped around Max's stomach, and they began going back to Balance Valley.

"We didn't do too bad," Max said.

"Yeah, I thought it'd be a little…disastrous," Monica said. "But I decided to fight by myself, the total opposite of what I said we should do earlier. No matter what I say, come help me, alright?"

"For sure."

"Yeah!" Gokuu said.

"Let's keep practicing until we feel comfortable facing that elephant army," Monica said.

Max and Gokuu nodded.

**Six Days Later…**

The trio had trained every other day, working together and using different and better techniques to defeat their enemies. It had gotten progressively easier throughout their time training, and Monica hadn't insisted that she fight alone again. Now they were at the entrance of the fifth floor, where the elephant army resided.

Max held up the seal-breaking scroll they had gotten from Morton's shop. There was a strong wind. Max, Monica, and Gokuu covered their faces. The wind was visible—it was colored black. Max could see the wind through a space in his arms. The wind hit the red wall. The wall cracked. It hit the wall again. This time, the wall broke completely and disintegrated.

The trio walked forward. An Elfas turned the corner and saw them. It roared, and other Elfas came up behind it.

The trio and the elephant army stood on opposite sides of the path. Max and Monica withdrew their weapons. The trio had a desperate desire to defeat the elephant army. If they couldn't, they knew they wouldn't be able to defeat Griffon, meaning the world could be destroyed. The trio couldn't lose this time.


	16. The Fruits of their Labor

**Chapter Sixteen: The Fruits of their Labor**

"I'll start off," Gokuu said. He seemed to disappear. He reappeared behind one of the Elfas.

"No, Gokuu!" Monica yelled. "This is exactly how it went wrong the last time!"

Gokuu made a thumbs-up while grinning. The Elfas' trunk swung at him. He caught it.

"See, I got stronger during our training, too!" he said.

Monica smiled. She turned to Max. "Let's go help him."

"Right," Max said. He reached inside his pouch and pressed a button. The Ridepod rode up beside him.

"'Ey, Max," Steve said. "Is it time for that teamwork thing?"

"Yup," Max said. "Those Elfas are our target."

The trio had also worked with the Ridepod during the last six days. The Ridepod was used to working with them.

"Alright. We going now?"

Max looked at Monica. Monica nodded. Max and Monica ran towards the Elfas, the Ridepod behind them. The Elfas stayed where they were and stared at them, save for the one Elfas that was struggling against Gokuu.

Monica ran to where Gokuu and the Elfas that was fighting him were. She raised her sword to cut off its trunk. Another Elfas swung its trunk towards her. The Ridepod punched it in its face, and it fell on its side onto the Elfas that was fighting against Gokuu. At the same time, Monica cut the Elfas' trunk off. Gokuu threw the trunk aside as the trunkless Elfas fell to the ground and disintegrated. The Elfas that the Ridepod had punched fell on the ground. Monica and Gokuu beat up on the Elfas while the Ridepod went to help Max.

Max bashed an Elfas on the head with his wrench. The Elfas showed no signs of being hurt and flicked its trunk upwards, sending Max towards the sky. The Ridepod jumped up and caught Max by the leg. While they were still flying upwards, Max shot the Elfas. It still didn't show signs of being hurt, as it stared at them, its face emotionless.

"My wrench and gun have no effect on it!" Max said. "What do I do?"

"You just let me take care of it," Steve said.

"But I have to help somehow!"

"Hmm…"

The Ridepod landed on the ground. It put Max down. "Okay, I can make that work." It punched an Elfas that was approaching from behind in the face. The Elfas froze and then disintegrated. "Distract them for me. They feel it when you hit them with your wrench and gun, but they don't get hurt."

"Got it!" Max ran to the nearest Elfas and hit it in the eye. The Elfas roared in pain. The Ridepod hit it on the back of its head, and the Elfas fell headfirst, leaving a crater in the ground. Another Elfas slid in front of the downed Elfas, hoping to protect it while it recovered from the fatal blow.

Max shot the Elfas. The beam hit the Elfas' leg. The Elfas looked down at its leg. The Ridepod tripped it. The Elfas fell heavily on top of the downed Elfas, making the downed Elfas disintegrate.

The Ridepod gasped and covered its mouth. "Look what you just did!"

The Elfas that had fallen on top of its comrade glared. The Ridepod swore it could see fire burning in its eyes. The Elfas swung its trunk towards the Ridepod's feet. Another Elfas wrapped its trunk around the Ridepod's legs, leaving the Ridepod stuck where it was. Max shot desperately at the Elfas, but they ignored the beams. The Ridepod struggled, but it was tripped. It was falling towards the ground when the Elfas that held the Ridepod in place smacked it in its back, sending it flying upwards. The Elfas that had tripped the Ridepod jumped into the air and hit the Ridepod with its trunk, sending the Ridepod towards the ground. Gokuu caught the Ridepod with both hands.

"Thanks so much," Steve said as Gokuu put it down. "I would've been smashed to bits if I'd hit the ground. See, they already got me a little. Look here." The Ridepod pointed to its torso. Gokuu saw the large dent there. The Ridepod turned around, and Gokuu saw the dent in the middle of its back.

"'Kay, I won't let them get me!" Gokuu threw a punch at the nearby Elfas. The Elfas caught the punch with its trunk. The two pushed against each other while another Elfas snuck up behind Gokuu. The sneaky Elfas tried to trip Gokuu, but Gokuu sensed it and jumped. As he jumped in the air, he let go of the Elfas' trunk and kicked the Elfas behind him. He spun in the air while keeping his leg extended, kicking the Elfas in front of him as well. Both Elfas stayed on their feet. Monica's sword cut off the sneaky Elfas' legs. The Elfas roared with pain and disintegrated.

The Elfas in front of Gokuu charged towards Monica, about to run over Gokuu to get to her. Gokuu withdrew his Nyoi-bo.

"Nyoi-bo, extend!"

The cypress stick extended, hitting the charging Elfas in its eye. The Nyoi-bo extended through its eye, cutting the Elfas vision in half. Gokuu pulled back his bloody Nyoi-bo and sheathed it.

The Elfas roared so loudly that all the fighting stopped, and Max, the Ridepod, and the Elfas around it turned and stared.

"Wh-what just happened?" Max said.

"Someone dealt a pretty good blow," the Ridepod said. "Unfortunately for us, that means no bars are being held anymore."

The Elfas around the half-blind Elfas roared as well.

"Quick, Gokuu, finish it off!" Monica said.

"Right!" Gokuu jumped and used as much strength as he could to punch the Elfas, smashing its face. The Elfas' roar became ear-splitting, and it disintegrated.

Gokuu landed on his feet. "Its face was soft."

"That's their weakness!" Monica said, her eyes lighting up. "We have to tell Max and the Ridepod!"

"We heard!" the Ridepod said, backing up towards Monica.

"Yeah, loud and clear!" Max said. He was close to Gokuu.

Max, Monica, Gokuu, and the Ridepod's backs were to each other as the Elfas charged towards them.

"Remember, this is for the Gemron from before!" Gokuu said.

A rock hit one of the Elfas. Everyone turned and looked in the direction that it came from. Golems were standing around the Elfas, already attacking them by jumping on them, hurling their bodies at them, and doing anything they could to kill the Elfas. Elfas were rapidly disintegrating. Elfas were no longer attacking Max, Monica, Gokuu, or the Ridepod, but were now focused entirely on the Golems.

"Are they here to help, or…?" Max said.

"Looks like they are," Monica said. "Still, be careful."

"Right after we found their weak spot," Gokuu said.

Once all the Elfas were defeated, the Golems surrounded Max, Monica, Gokuu, and the Ridepod. The Golems glared at them.

"Here to finish us off?" the Ridepod said.

The Golems' glare turned to a friendly face. One stepped out and held its hand in front of Gokuu. Gokuu shook it.

"What's going on?" Monica said.

The Golem began to talk to Gokuu. Gokuu nodded. He nodded again. "I'll tell them." He turned to Max, Monica, and the Ridepod. "It said, 'We heard what had happened with the Gemrons. Those Elfas have always been bullies, and now that the Gemrons are gone, they were trying to find something else to pick on. We saw how you all were their next target and decided to help."

"Thank you so much," Max said. "Eh, I don't know if you can understand me…"

The Golem nodded.

"It's strange that they can understand us, but we can't understand them," Monica said. "We'll have to watch what we say from now on."

"None of us will attack you, that's a promise," the Golem said. Gokuu translated.

"And we won't attack you," Max said. "We promise."

"Anytime you guys need help, just call," the Golem said. It opened up its hand, revealing a bell attached to a string. It gave the bell to Gokuu. "Here. We'll be there anytime you need help. We'll tell our relatives, too, so they can help you if you ever go to another area."

The Golems left, scattering in all directions. Max, Monica, and Gokuu waved after them.

"That makes my job a little easier," the Ridepod said. "I'm out. There shouldn't be anymore monsters on this floor—no monsters that'll attack you, at least. Besides, I'm running outta fuel." The Ridepod jumped off the cliff, landing in the water below. Water sprayed upwards as the Ridepod ran back towards Balance Valley.

"It's good that we were able to make friends," Monica said.

"Yeah, definitely," Max said. "That's one less monster to worry about."

"So now all we have to do is get the Geostone," Gokuu said. He suddenly turned around and caught a Geostone. The trio looked up. A Golem was on the wall. It gave them a thumbs-up and continued to climb up the wall.

"Boy, are they friendly," Monica said. "If only we could be friends with all the monsters."

* * *

The trio had made it to the exit. However, there was a moon on a stump next to it.

"It's like what we saw in Rainbow Butterfly Wood," Max said. "That means there're two exits!"

"Which one do we take?" Gokuu said.

"Let's go through the other one," Monica said. "Something tells me we're not supposed to use this one yet."

* * *

The trio was in the Carpenterion, looking at the information that had just come up on the screen.

"Still no info on how to restore those," Monica said. "I guess we need to go get another Geostone." She sighed. "I'm kinda tired of fighting. We've been fighting nonstop for…how long now?"

"We're on a roll," Max said. "One more floor, then we can rest."

"Sure," Monica said. "One more."


	17. Power: Up!

**Chapter Seventeen: Power: Up!**

The trio rode on the back of the condor. The condor rapidly approached the next floor. Max and Monica prepared to jump while Gokuu remained in the middle of the condor's back.

"Mr. Condor, how come you're not friends with us?" Gokuu said.

The condor looked at Gokuu without turning its head.

"A bunch of other monsters became friends with us the other day, and we've ridden on you so many times now… How come you don't fight alongside us?"

The condor looked straight ahead.

"Has the condor ever _talked_, Gokuu?" Monica said.

"No, but maybe it will now. So, Mr. Condor?"

The condor was silent.

"How come you can't talk while everyone else here can?"

"Maybe because it's an actual animal instead of a monster," Monica said. "You wouldn't think animals exist anymore since there are all these monsters around."

The condor let out a long moan. The trio looked in its eyes, which were clearly sad.

"Animals can talk, though," Max said, walking over to the condor's head. He bent down and began rubbing its head.

"Oh…" Monica said. _I think I…struck a chord. _She also went over to the condor's head and began to pet it. _Come to think of it, I've never seen more than one condor flying around at a time. I think this is the same condor that's been taking us to every floor._

Gokuu went over to where Max and Monica were. "Can you try talking to me?"

The condor closed its eyes. When they had remained closed for over a minute, Gokuu said, "We'll run into something if you keep doing that."

The condor opened its eyes. Its eyes were still sad.

Gokuu realized how sad the condor was. He sat on his knees and began to pet it. Monica looked at the condor's eyes. Its eyes were now a little happier. She smiled. _This is just like the situation with the Gemron._

"Let's restore the world as soon as possible, okay?" she said.

"Right!" Max and Gokuu both said.

The condor's eyes glittered with hope. It blinked and then looked down. They were at the next floor. It lowered close to the ground. The trio stepped off. The condor rose up into the air and flew away. It looked back to see the trio waving and smiling at it.

* * *

Griffon's eyes softened. He didn't know humans could be that way. They looked like they genuinely cared for the condor even though they barely knew it.

Monica was right. Monsters were attacking them rather than the other way around, but Griffon was still wary. This could all be an act, but their care for the condor looked so real.

This wasn't the first time he had seen care from humans. The Firbits, Master Utan, Holly, the Holy Gemron…and it all looked so real, so genuine.

Not to mention Alexandra.

Could humans really be caring creatures? Creatures that didn't just care about war and destruction?

It didn't matter. He was still going to do it.

* * *

"No monsters to greet us this time, huh?" Monica said, walking forward. Max and Gokuu walked alongside her. "Actually, where _are _the monsters?"

"Look at all these chests," Max said. There were over ten treasure chests scattered in front of them. "Makes it a bit too obvious what kind of monsters are gonna be on this floor."

"Mimics?" Gokuu said.

"That's right."

"Let's just open one at a time," Monica said. She walked over to a chest and opened it. She quickly withdrew her hand as the Mimic's teeth chomped at her. She backflipped away next to Max and Gokuu.

The Mimic snickered. It hopped over to another chest and opened it. It was another Mimic. That Mimic hopped over to another chest and opened it. That chest grew in size, revealing itself to be the King Mimic.

"Now it's even," Gokuu said. "It wasn't really fair before."

"It's still not fair," Monica said. "The biggest one can take care of us all by itself."

"Really…?" A grin spread across Gokuu's face. "I'll take him on, then."

"Yeah, let's do this individually," Max said.

"I know we just learned to work together," Monica said, "but that's the best thing to do."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu ran towards the Mimics, and the Mimics ran towards them. As he was running, Max shot at the Mimic in front of him. The Mimic jumped in all directions, avoiding the beams. Max shot once more as a diversion. The Mimic jumped in the air and let the beam pass under it. Max swung his Smash Wrench towards the Mimic. The Mimic dodged the wrench as well.

"This guy reminds me of Monica," Max said. He swung his wrench at the Mimic again. The Mimic caught the wrench and flipped Max over. Max hit the ground hard. He stood up. A bruise began to form on his face as he shot at the Mimic. The Mimic opened its mouth and ate the beam. Then, it coughed, letting a beam twice the size of the beam that it had eaten come out. Max was hit in the stomach. It felt like the beam had gone through him.

Max fell on his back. He was looking at the sky, at the clouds moving through the vast blue area. He breathed deeply, relaxing himself. Then, he stood up.

"I dunno when you guys learned how to do that," Max said, "but I won't let it hit me again."

Max shot at the Mimic once more. The Mimic ate the beam and spit it out. Max dodged the incoming beam. Then, he thought of something. It was risky, but he would try it anyway. He shot at the Mimic. The Mimic ate the beam and coughed it up towards him. Max held his Jurak Gun's nozzle in front of the beam. The beam went inside the Jurak Gun. Max threw his wrench towards the Mimic. As the wrench was going towards the Mimic, Max shot his Jurak Gun. The force made Max fly backwards. A beam the width of the Blackstone One went towards the Mimic. The Mimic saw the wrench and the beam coming towards it. It tried to jump out of the way of the beam, but didn't jump far enough. It got hit with the wrench and then took the full force of the beam. It disintegrated as the beam passed through it. The beam hit the canyon across from the one the trio was already on, leaving a crater in its wall.

When the smoke cleared, Max saw the Mimic was gone. "Maybe I'll use that to defeat all the Mimics from now on." He went over to his wrench, which had somehow survived the beam, and picked it up.

* * *

Monica swung her sword towards the top of the Mimic. The Mimic caught the sword. It bashed its body into Monica repeatedly and then threw her towards the edge of the canyon. Monica's fall turned into a backflip, and she stopped at the edge.

She used her Crystal Brassard to send fireballs the Mimic's way. The Mimic grabbed all of the fireballs and crushed them in its hands.

"Wh-what…?" Monica said. "Why are these monsters so extraordinarily strong?" She squinted. The Mimic looked normal. _I don't understand… If they had drunk stamina drinks, then they would be glowing, but they're not… Did these monsters undergo intense training or something? Or are they just naturally strong?_

She stood where she was, not wanting to risk anything, waiting for the Mimic to make a move. The Mimic stood its ground as well, staring at Monica smugly. It lurched forward. Monica jumped towards it, holding out her sword. The Mimic stopped. Monica's eyes widened. The world went black as the Mimic punched her in the gut. Monica fell. The Mimic caught her.

_This…this is like fighting Max… _Monica thought as the world became darker. _Can't lose consciousness… _She grabbed the Mimic's arm and twisted it. She fell on the ground. She looked up at the Mimic. It was glaring at her. Monica glared back.

She stood up and then backflipped some feet away. _This is the only way to win. _She began channeling all her energy into her sword. Her sword began to give off a purple light. She opened her right eye. The Mimic had its eyes closed and was focusing. Its hands gave off a golden light. She opened her other eye. She was ready. The Mimic opened its eyes at the same time. It was also ready.

The Mimic and Monica jumped towards each other, Monica holding out her sword, the Mimic holding out fists. The sword and fists met. It was Monica's purple energy versus the Mimic's golden energy. Monica used all her strength to push the Mimic back. She felt her sword begin to cut through the Mimic. She continued to push forward. Some of the Mimic's golden energy hit her, but she ignored the pain. As Monica pushed forward, the Mimic began to become more desperate. It used all its strength to push forward, but Monica was like a brick wall. No matter how hard the Mimic tried, its actions were all for naught. The golden light disappeared, and Monica sliced through the Mimic, leaving it in two halves. The Mimic disintegrated.

Monica sheathed her sword and landed on the ground. She looked at her arms and legs. There were a few bruises from the Mimic's golden energy, but nothing serious. "I don't know why these monsters are twice as strong as the ones on the last floor, but it doesn't matter. They're still not strong enough to beat us."

* * *

"So, you're supposed to be the strongest of the bunch?" Gokuu said. He and the King Mimic were standing a fair distance from each other. "You sure look it."

The King Mimic snickered.

"Let's have a good fight."

The King Mimic stared at Gokuu with a wry smile.

"Ready?"

The King Mimic nodded.

"Let's go!"

Gokuu ran towards the King Mimic, and the King Mimic towards Gokuu. They both threw out a punch. Their fists collided, sending a vibration through each of their bodies. Gokuu kicked. The King Mimic grabbed his leg and smashed him into the ground. Then, the King Mimic threw him against the wall. Finally, it headbutted him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Gokuu released himself from the wall and landed lightly on the ground. He ran towards the King Mimic, a fist outstretched. The King Mimic stayed where it was. It dodged the punch, seeming to disappear before Gokuu's eyes.

"Where—" Gokuu felt a sharp pain in his backside. He looked behind him and saw the King Mimic, its elbow outstretched. Gokuu fell heavily on his hands and knees. The King Mimic fell on him, putting its entire weight on him. Gokuu's body was pressed into the ground.

Gokuu lifted his head and looked up at the King Mimic. "G…give me…a chance…" he wheezed.

The King Mimic shook its head.

"Gotta…do something…" Gokuu began lifting himself up, the King Mimic going up with him. The King Mimic pressed down harder, but Gokuu kept going up. He grinded his teeth. He was close to his full height. The King Mimic jumped up and down on Gokuu's back. Suddenly, Gokuu stood up completely, and the King Mimic was sent away by the impact.

Gokuu turned around and looked at the King Mimic. "You really are as strong as Monica said. I'm glad." He withdrew his Nyoi-bo. "I'm ready for real now. Let's start."

The King Mimic charged towards him. Gokuu stayed where he was, focusing only on the King Mimic. The King Mimic seemed to move in slow motion. It threw a punch. Gokuu dodged. It threw another punch. Gokuu dodged that one by jumping in the air. He hit the King Mimic in the head as hard as he could. The King Mimic's head cracked. Gokuu continued to press down. The King Mimic was stunned as it was split down the middle. It disintegrated. Gokuu sheathed his Nyoi-bo.

"Wow, that part was easy!" he said. He looked around. Max and Monica had recently finished and were coming towards him.

"Was there something up with those monsters," Max said, "or was it just me?"

"No, it was me, too," Monica said.

"Yeah, that huge Mimic was super tough," Gokuu said.

"Monsters shouldn't get that stronger just between one floor," Monica said. "There's something happening. I don't know what, but there's definitely something strange going on."

* * *

Griffon's eyes narrowed. They had given the humans a lot of trouble, but not enough. He called his lackeys. They were near him in an instant.

"Boost the stamina drinks even more," Griffon said. "Boost them so much that anyone who takes them will be near impossible to defeat. And this time, once they're done, drink them yourselves. If that's strong enough, we'll commence the attack."

The Griffon Soldiers bowed. "Yes, sir."

* * *

The trio had easily acquired the Geostone and had easily left the floor. All the Mimics after defeating the supercharged ones had been ridiculously easy. The trio was now in the Carpenterion.

"Finally, we can actually do something," Monica said.

"Man, we haven't been to Palm Brinks in ages," Max said. I know they're thinking that something happened to us."

"Let's go."

The trio left the Carpenterion and ran towards the station. Ferdinand needed to be at the Chinese stand, and at least two people needed to live in Balance Valley.


	18. Breather

**Chapter Eighteen: Breather**

"It feels good to be back home," Max said as he, Monica, and Gokuu stepped off the Blackstone One. As soon as they got off, the station became quiet. All heads turned to look at the trio.

"What's goin' on out here?" Cedric said, getting off the train followed by Borneo, Erik, and Dr. Dell. "It's so quiet that you'd think…uh…" He looked around. Everyone was staring at him. It made him nervous.

"Did we turn into aliens or something?" Erik said.

"Must have," Borneo said.

"Uh…" Max stepped forward. "Hi, everyone! We're back!"

The station erupted with cheering. The trio, Cedric, Borneo, Erik, and Dr. Dell were engulfed by people. People began flowing in the station and ran as fast as they could towards the returnees.

"Dang! The whole town's gotta be in here!" Cedric yelled.

Mayor Need and his daughter, Claire, managed to push their way through the crowd to the trio. Claire hugged Max, saying, "You're back! You're back! I'm so happy!"

"I'm happy to be back, Claire," Max replied.

"Max!"

Max looked where Donny's voice had come from. Donny ran towards the trio, acknowledging Monica and Gokuu by smiling at them.

"Good to see y'all back," he said.

"You had been gone so long, we had gotten worried," Mayor Need said. He turned around and saw Cedric. "Cedric! Is that you?"

"The one and only!"

Cedric and Need met and briefly hugged, patting each other on the back as they did so. Then, they shook hands.

Sheriff Blinkhorn, Patrolman Addis, and Patrolman Puno burst into the station, holding up their guns.

"What's going on in here?" Sheriff Blinkhorn shouted. "A robbery? A murder?"

"Is that Monica, Max, and Gokuu?" Patrolman Addis said.

"Th-they're back?" Sheriff Blinkhorn, Patrolman Addis, and Patrolman Puno ran towards the crowd.

"How's the restoration project going?" a voice called out over the cheering. The cheering stopped at once.

"We fixed Sindain completely," Monica said, "and we're working on Balance Valley now. We need people to come to Balance Valley, so if anyone wants to come along…"

The crowd remained silent. Eyes were averted. Everyone took interest in the walls and at the train. Claire slowly, gently released herself from Max, but still looked in his eyes, and Max looked in hers with confusion.

"Everyone's afraid of leaving," Claire said. "No one knows what the outside world is like. The people who have left…Polly, Adel, Gordon…they haven't come back since they went to live in the outside world, so…"

"But we were there, and we're fine," Gokuu said, referring to Max, Monica, Cedric, Borneo, Erik, and Dr. Dell by nodding his head at them.

"But the outside world is so mysterious," Claire said as the crowd began to shy away. "And you guys can fight, can't you?"

"Well, we got Steve with us at all times," Cedric said, "and he protects Borneo and Erik and I, and the people on the train."

"That's what I mean. You guys can protect yourselves, but no one here can fight. And we're all so safe here."

_Why are these people so close-minded? _Monica thought. _After being locked up in this city for so long, you think they'd be enthusiastic about going to a new place, but…_

"Come to think of it, we haven't visited the people living in Sindain ever since we moved on to Balance Valley," Gokuu said. "We don't know how they're doing."

"Maybe we should check up on them," Monica said. "So, if we can prove to the town that the outside world is safe, more people would be happy to come to the outside world."

"That means that we have to bring people who already live in the outside world back to Palm Brinks," Max said.

"We'll take care of that," Erik said. Borneo and Cedric nodded. "You guys go ahead and relax. After all, you've been doing lots of fighting lately."

"Thanks, we will."

"We'll leave in the morning," Borneo said. "I think all of us could use some shut-eye."

* * *

"…and then we had to hit the butterflies in the order of the rainbow," Gokuu said. "It was easy. See, 'cause usually you'd have to sneak up on butterflies, but I could just go up to them and hit them, I was so fast!"

"Showoff," Monica muttered.

The trio was telling their latest stories from the outside world. There was a crowd in front of them with adults in the back and kids in the front.

"Then, the Rainbow Butterfly came out," Max said, "and revealed herself to be Holly."

"Wait, so she just changed form like that?" someone called out.

"Yeah." Max explained Holly getting saved by the Firbits from a web and her progression from a small butterfly to a monster. "Then, she gave us a letter, and then split up into the seven small butterflies Gokuu had hit before. So we went back to the Firbits' house and gave them the letter—"

"After a brief visit to Jurak, of course," Monica said. "He told us that Griffon exists somewhere in the past and that we have to go see Crest to see just how far back in the past he is."

"Couldn't Griffon destroy the world anytime he wanted to?" a blue-haired boy named Drini said.

"That's a good question," Monica whispered to Max and Gokuu.

"What do we say?" Max whispered.

"We should just tell the truth, right?" Gokuu said. "He ca—"

"No, no, don't tell the truth!" Monica said, covering his mouth with her hand.

"So…he can?" Corinne said.

"Unfortunately…" Max said. "But we're working as quickly as we can to prevent that from happening! Something's keeping him from destroying the world anytime he wants." He held up his Atlamillia. "I think it has something to do with me and Monica's stones."

"And the Dragonballs," Gokuu said.

"Does Griffon want them?" someone else called out.

"Yeah, that's why we're keeping them under close supervision," Monica said. "There's no way Griffon'll get his hands on these, we promise!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Is the story over?" Milane's sister asked.

"Might as well be. It got derailed so much."

People began coming up to the trio all at once to ask questions while others went home since night was falling. The dissipating crowd was saying, "The outside world doesn't sound very nice," and "I'm not going out there." The people who stayed behind were telling the trio that the outside world sounded scary.

"It's really not," Max said. "The towns out there are as safe as Palm Brinks. The monsters never venture away from their homes."

"I think I _might_ wanna go out there," Corinne said. "Maybe."

_On her own? _Monica thought. _Where are her parents?_

"That's great!" Gokuu said. He grabbed her hand. "Let's go!"

"Wait, you have to do something for me first. Besides, you guys asked all these other people, but I had to ask you. I think that says something."

"Like what?"

"You don't want little kids coming with you. But I bring people good luck! I've never seen a losing lottery ticket, and it never rains when I go out. Whaddaya say? Is that enough to convince you to take you with me?"

"Definitely," Max said. "We said we needed all the people we could get in the outside world."

_Isn't anybody concerned about her parents? _Monica thought.

"Well, you need to do something for me first."

_Of course, _Monica thought. _Nothing's ever _that _easy._

"See, Drini stinks at hide-and-seek. He never finds me, and he always picks the easiest-to-find hiding spots."

"Hey!" Drini said.

"Can you play hide-and-seek with me? Unless you think it's a little kid game."

"Not tonight," Monica said as Max yawned. "In the morning."

"Okay, so our game starts tomorrow morning. And then, if you find me, I'll come with you. Deal?"

"Deal!" the trio said.

* * *

It felt great to be back in his own room, in his own bed. But he had to get up sometime.

Max sat up. He put his feet on the floor and stretched his arms out. Then, he got out of bed and went downstairs. Monica and Gokuu were in the foyer, waiting for him.

"Good morning," Monica said.

"That was the best sleep I've ever had!" Gokuu said. "We should come here more often."

"Let's go," Max said. "Corinne's waiting for us."

The trio set off into the streets of Palm Brinks. Corinne would meet them in the middle of town so "she wouldn't make it too obvious where she was going to hide." She was there as she said she would be.

"Good morning," Corinne said. She looked the trio over. "All three of you can't play. It'd be unfair to me."

The trio looked at each other. They knew they needed Ferdinand, too. The problem was, would he accept? He needed someone to which he was close to persuade him. That person was Max.

They couldn't think about it for too long. It would look suspicious.

"I'll play," Monica said.

"Okay!" Corinne said.

"We're off to get Ferdinand, then," Max said. "He should be awake by now."

"We'll be back," Gokuu said. The two boys began going back to Max's mansion.

"You go over there—" Corinne pointed to the bakery shop's wall "—and start counting to 100."

Monica nodded. She went to the place Corinne had pointed out. She began counting. She heard quick footsteps move away from her. That meant Corinne was either going towards the train station or the town square.

Monica finished counting. "Ready or not, here I come!" She turned swiftly on her feet and began running towards the train station.

"H-Hey!"

That was Corinne's voice coming from the train station area. Once Monica had gotten there, she saw what was causing such a commotion.

The bartender stood outside the bar holding Corinne by the collar of her shirt. "No, you can't come in," the bartender was saying. "You have to be at least a teenager to come in."

"I-I'm fifteen!" Corinne said.

"I wasn't born yesterday, young lady. I'm not permitted to let small children into the bar."

"It's just for a game!"

"It doesn't matter what it's for. It's a rule."

Corinne began biting at the bartender's forearm but, because she couldn't reach it, ended up biting air.

"If you want to complain, go to town hall. The mayor made this rule." The bartender gently put Corinne down and went back inside the bar.

Monica went up to Corinne. "I found you."

"Don't mess with me right now! You saw that, right? It's discrimination!"

"It's only to protect you," Monica said. "You really shouldn't be in a bar at your age."

"No! I see lots of bad stuff all the time. Like…stuff! Now, we have to go to town hall and get the mayor to change this rule!"

"What do you mean 'we'?"

"You and I, of course. If you don't, then I won't go to the outside world with you."

Monica sighed. "It's just one pain after the other."

Monica and Corinne made their way to town hall, Monica coaching Corinne on how to talk to the mayor along the way, as she knew all too well what happened when the people from her kingdom were angry. However, Corinne didn't listen.

Monica and Corinne arrived in the mayor's office. Mayor Need was standing in front of his desk, zoning out.

"Hello," Monica and Corinne said at the same time.

Mayor Need said nothing back. He was grumbling.

"There must be something wrong if he's not saying anything back," Monica said. She and Corinne got closer to Mayor Need. He still grumbled, but now they could understand what he was saying.

"1216. No, 1230. Gah! What a bad father I am!"

"Don't you mean, 'What a bad mayor I am'?" Corinne said.

"Don't get snarky," Monica said.

"Bad mayor…" Mayor Need said. "Yes, I'm that, too. I can't remember the combination to the safe that holds all my important documents, including the town deed, and I can't remember my own daughter's birthday."

"Safe holding important documents?" Monica said.

"Yes, that's right, Monica…" His eyes came to life. He stepped back. "Monica?" He looked next to Monica and saw Corinne. "Did you hear all that?"

Monica and Corinne nodded.

"Eh, I didn't mean for all that to come out. Well, since you're here now, I might as well tell you about my dilemma."

"Might as well," Monica muttered. "Everyone else is."

"'Don't get snarky', huh?" Corinne said.

"As you know, there's a safe in here holding important documents," Mayor Need said, "but I forgot the combination to it. I made the combination Claire's birthday date, thinking I'd remember my own daughter's birthday, but I can't remember. But there have been a few things I've been able to figure out about it."

Mayor Need told the girls that he had been given a four-star brooch for Claire. Claire's birthday had always been confusing since it was on a day that the garbage got taken away. Burnable garbage went out on days divisible by four. Unburnable garbage went out on days divisible by three.

"Can you figure something out based on that?" Mayor Need said.

"April's divisible by four," Corinne said.

"It's a four-digit number," Mayor Need said. "I know that much."

Monica put her hand on her cheek. "So it's not any of the single-digit months. That only leaves us with December. The first two numbers are one and two!"

"Twelve… Twelve what?" Corinne said. "The last two digits have to be divisible by three, so they could be twelve, eighteen, twenty-one, or twenty-seven."

"Let's try them one by one," Monica said.

The mayor put in the combinations 1212, which didn't work, and 1218, which didn't work. Then, he put in 1221, and the safe opened.

"Yes!" Mayor Need said. He turned around to look at the girls. "Thank you so much! I'll do whatever you want!"

Corinne stepped forward. "First off—"

"Wait a second," Monica said to Corinne. "What Max, Gokuu and I are trying to do is much more important than what you're trying to do. We're trying to restore the world, after all, and you're just spouting things about discrimination. Don't waste the mayor's time with unnecessary things."

"What about discrimination?" Mayor Need said.

"Kids are being discriminated against!" Corinne said as Monica put her hand over her face. "I tried to go in the bar today, and I was taken out because I'm a kid! Kids should be able to go wherever they want!"

"I put that rule in place because I wanted to keep kids safe. Drinking isn't good for you, especially for kids, and you don't need to be exposed to such things so early in your life."

"But I know what's going on in the outside world! That's exposed, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Just give it a rest," Monica said. "It doesn't matter. You'll be able to go in when you're older, okay?"

Corinne crossed her arms and began to pout.

"Anyway, Mayor Need, you said you'd do anything for us. I need you to come to the outside world. We could use as many people as we can get. The more people, the better our future."

"I can't."

Monica's eyes almost popped out of her head. "Why not?"

"The rumors that the people who have been living in the outside world are dead… Oh, I don't think I can come with you."

"But you just said…! You know what? Come wait with us in the train station. Borneo and Erik should be back soon with the people who already live in the outside world."

Mayor Need and Corinne followed Monica to the train station. They saw Ferdinand, Max, and Gokuu inside by the tracks. They went over to them.

"He didn't want to go either, huh?" Monica said.

"Nope," Max said. "We've been waiting here for a long time now. It's making me worried."

"You think something happened to them?" Gokuu said.

Monica's eyes narrowed. "Let's just see what happens."

They continued to wait. They did various things around the station as they waited: talked with the stationmaster, examined the rails, slept. Hours later, Max looked at the clock. Midnight was approaching.

There was a crowd in the station, awaiting the train's arrival. No train came, worrying everyone.

"Something has to be happening," Monica said. "They left this morning, and it's not a long trip from here to Sindain."

"Let's go look for them," Max said.

"Look for them…?" Claire said. "What's happened to them?"

Max turned to Claire. "We don't know, but we'll find out." He smiled. "Don't worry, we'll definitely bring them back."

"Nothing like this ever happened while we were there," Monica said. Her eyes widened. "While we were there… It can't be…!"

Gokuu began running towards the entrance. "We can take Kintoun! Let's go!"

Max and Monica followed him. The crowd looked on in worry.


	19. Mystery

**Chapter Nineteen: Mystery**

The trio rode on Kintoun towards Sindain.

"Steve was on the train," Max said. "I know he's protecting them. I'll see where he is." He took out the Help Receiver and pressed the button. "Steve, are you there? Where are you?"

No response.

"Steve!" Max put the Receiver up to his ear. He only heard static. "The Ridepod's receiver must've been broken. There's definitely something going on."

"What do you think happened?" Gokuu said. "Who's done this?"

"We have three choices," Monica said. "The monsters did this of their own free will, Griffon is making the monsters do this, or Gaspard is behind this."

"Gaspard?" Max and Gokuu said at the same time.

"He's Griffon's top mook. He killed my father, King Raybrandt. He's a dirty person. If I ever come face-to-face with him—" she touched the hilt of her sword "—he's through."

"So you're missing a parent, too," Max said. "What about your mother?"

"She's still alive," Monica said. "She's in charge of the kingdom since Father's gone."

"What's she like? Does she read stories to you before bedtime and nurse you when you're sick?"

"Well, I'm too old for bedtime stories, but she does nurse me when I'm sick. She does all the things a mother is supposed to do. I do feel bad, just leaving her to deal with my father's death by herself. I saw Gaspard leave a time gate open going to this time after he killed Father, so I took it without telling anybody. I'm sure Mother and everyone in the future know I'm here now, restoring the world and such."

"I see," Max said. "Gokuu, what about your parents?"

"I only have a Grampa," Gokuu said. "I don't have a mother."

"But everyone has a mother. Do you know where she is?"

"No. I don't remember anything about her."

"That's strange." _I'm lucky compared to him. At least I remember my mother and the things she did for me._

Kintoun began lowering itself towards the ground. They were in Sindain.

"What happened…?" Monica said, her eyes widening.

The wooden houses were crushed into small pieces. There were burn marks where the straw houses and trees were. Even the Firbits' house was gone.

Kintoun was low enough for the trio to get off. They did so and began walking around the area, examining the remains, looking for clues, but there were none to be found.

"All that hard work we put in all gone in an instant," Monica said.

"Let's go to Rainbow Butterfly Wood and see if the monsters know anything about this," Max said.

"Okay." Monica took out the Himarra Badge and began transforming into a Himarra.

"What will you do, Max?" Gokuu said.

"I'll fly above on Kintoun. You guys can tell me what the monsters said afterwards."

The trio entered Rainbow Butterfly Wood, Gokuu as himself, Monica as a Himarra, and Max on Kintoun. The first monster they encountered was a Skeleton Soldier.

"Hey," Gokuu said, "do you know anything about what happened to Sindain?"

"You mean where the humans live?"

"Yeah."

"I did hear a lot of screaming the other night. Me and some others ran down to that area and saw monsters from other areas taking the humans and destroying the human's habitats and other human-made items, even the eyed trees. The monsters were glowing gold and had red eyes."

"Gokuu, these must be the superpowered monsters we encountered before!" Monica said. "By the sound of it, they've been even more powered up." She turned to the Skeleton Soldier. "Where were those monsters taking the humans to?"

"They were jumping off behind that giant withered tree. I don't know where that area leads to."

"I guess we have to go ourselves, then," Monica said. "Thank you so much. You've been a big help."

"You're welcome so much."

Monica and Gokuu began walking away, Kintoun following them from above. They stopped when the Skeleton Soldier said, "Why do you all want to help the humans, anyway?"

"They weren't bothering anyone, were they?" Monica said. "They were staying where they were supposed to stay, right?"

"Well, yes, they weren't coming into our territory, but why is it necessary for the humans to remain in that area?"

"It's very important that they stay where they are for a long time. It's so everyone, monsters and humans alike, will have a future." She and Gokuu continued to walk towards the entrance of Rainbow Butterfly Wood.

"Be careful," the Skeleton Soldier said. "Those monsters that took off with the humans aren't from around here."

* * *

Griffon watched Monica, who was back in her human form, Gokuu, and Max walk towards Sindain. This wasn't his doing, but Gaspard's and Dr. Jaming's. Griffon's plan wouldn't come into play until later.

Griffon had told Gaspard that he was free to do whatever he needed to do to hinder the development of the past so there would be no future. Gaspard and Dr. Jaming had come to Griffon to ask for approval for this mission, and Griffon had approved.

It would be interesting to see how this played out.

But Griffon had a hard time paying attention to the trio, as he was thinking about Monica's reasoning for restoring the past: so everyone could have a future.

* * *

"'Those monsters aren't from around here,'" Max repeated. He, Monica, and Gokuu were in front of the withered Jurak in Sindain. "What do you think that means?"

"It means that the monsters are either stronger or weaker," Monica said. "For Erik and the others' sakes, I'm hoping that means they're weaker."

"But the way that Skeleton Soldier said it didn't make it sound like those monsters were very weak, especially since the Ridepod didn't even stand a chance against it."

"So we have to find them as soon as possible and beat them," Gokuu said.

"That's right," Monica said. "We have no time to lose. Let's go."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu jumped behind the bushes that lead to the area behind the withered Jurak. There were trees everywhere and no paths.

"It looks like it's easy to get lost here," Max said.

"How are we going to find them?" Monica said. "There's no indication of where those monsters took Erik and the others."

"Look!" Gokuu said, pointing at a trail of droppings. "I think those were left by the monsters."

"…That's gross," Monica said. "One of the monsters had…accidents while it was walking. Eww…"

"We have no choice but to follow them," Max said, starting to follow the trail. Monica and Gokuu followed him.

When they had been following the trail for a while, Monica said, "My goodness, this is a long trail."

"That monster must have real bad stomach problems," Gokuu said.

"At least it's making it easy for us to find them," Max said.

"I just hope these lead us to where those monsters are," Monica said.

The trail stopped.

"The monster must have stopped pooping," Gokuu said.

"Looks like we don't have anything to go on from here on out," Max said.

"Actually, we do," Monica said. "Gokuu, can use your nose to sniff those monsters out? Sorry to ask such a nasty job of you."

"Yeah, I think I can." Gokuu bent down and sniffed one of the droppings. Then, he sniffed an area that had no droppings. "They went this way." He began walking while bending, following the monster's scent, Max and Monica following him.

They all heard gunshots. They dove behind the same bush. They peeked from holes between the leaves. After a while of not hearing anything, Max said, "Guns. Are these monsters or humans that are attacking us?"

"Most likely monsters," Monica said. "I know that there are monster foxes that use rifles."

"I'm pretty sure it's them," Gokuu said. "I remember getting them on our bad side."

"You think this is the monsters getting revenge on us?" Max said.

Monica nodded. "I can't believe this. We never do anything to the monsters, but they assume we're bad people and attack us. And when we fight back, like we're supposed to, in self-defense, they try to play victim. How frustrating."

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Max said. "We're on their bad side now, but maybe we can make it up to them later."

"We made it up to that dying Gemron," Gokuu said. "And then the Golems helped us."

"Now that you mention it…"

"See, maybe not all monsters are bad. Some of them are just looking for a fight, and who can blame them?"

"Are you related to the monsters somehow?" Monica said.

"Nope, I'm perfectly human!"

Monica's eyes narrowed. "Your tail said otherwise."

There was another gunshot. The bullet went through the bush and passed between Monica and Gokuu.

"We have to get out of here!" Monica said. "Come on!"

Max, Monica, and Gokuu jumped out of the bush and began running as fast as they could. Gokuu was leagues ahead of Max and Monica. He shouted, "If you want, you guys can ride on Kintoun while I look down here!"

"Good idea!" Monica said. She soon found herself lying on her back on Kintoun, Max in a similar position beside her. There were bullets coming from all sides, as the monsters were desperately trying to hit the trio. Kintoun flew above the trees. Max and Monica sat up and saw Rifle Wolves shooting at them.

"They're like Hunter Foxes but…different," Monica said.

"These must be the monsters from another area!" Max said.

Gokuu was confronted with Griffon Soldiers. He punched them as hard as he could as he ran, killing them instantly. Then, he had an idea. Another Griffon Soldier came at him. He grabbed the Griffon Soldier by the neck and held it up to him, running all the while.

"Where did you take Erik and the others?" Gokuu said.

"Humans…" the Griffon Soldier wheezed. "You mean…humans…?"

"Yes!"

"I am permitted to give away whereabouts by…Lord Gaspard and…Lord Jaming…"

"Then tell me where they are!"

"Large clearing…outskirts of forest…" The Griffon Soldier disintegrated.

Gokuu waved at Max and Monica. Kintoun came to him. Gokuu jumped on. Kintoun took off above the clouds.

"What happened?" Monica said.

"I asked a Griffon Soldier!" Gokuu said. "Erik and the others are in a large clearing in the outskirts of this forest!"

"Okay!" Max said. "Go as fast as you can, Kintoun!"

Kintoun flew as fast as it ever had towards the clearing. Rifle Wolves still shot at them. The trio deflected the bullets with their weapons.

"We can't lose too much steam," Max said. "Something tells me there'll be a big fight once we get to the clearing!"

"I have to say, the monsters sure have outdone themselves this time," Monica said. "They set up this huge defense just to keep us from getting to the clearing in the first place."

"How do you think those monsters are able to shoot so accurately when we're way up here, anyway?"

"They're monsters, after all. Supernatural beings, like Gokuu."

"I'm a normal human, just like you guys!" Gokuu said.

"I really doubt that. Monsters like you, they say you smell like them… I don't think you're completely a human, but I could be wrong."

"But if I'm not human, what else could I be?"

"There aren't any other monsters I've seen before that look like you. Who knows? We might find out soon." She looked ahead. "Anyway, this isn't the time to be trying to figure that out. We need to focus on saving Erik and the others."

Fewer and fewer gunshots reached the trio. Then, they stopped altogether.

"We must be out of their range," Max said. "We must be close to the clearing!"

"You think their defense would get stronger the closer we got to the clearing," Monica said.

"Maybe they're expecting the monsters in the clearing to take us out."

"They must be pretty strong, huh?" Gokuu said. "I'm looking forward to this fight more and more!"

The trio heard a noise similar to that of an engine.

"I recognize that sound..." Monica said, stepping forward and looking up. Max and Gokuu looked up as well. There was a large ship floating in the sky. Monica gasped. "Gaspard!"

"That's his battleship?" Max said.

Monica nodded.

The trio arrived at the clearing. Kintoun began lowering itself, slowing down all the while. They could see Cedric, Borneo, Erik, Polly, Milane, Gordon, and Adel sitting back to back in the middle of the clearing. They were tied up with vines. A countless number of monsters surrounded them, including Rifle Wolves. The monsters who weren't Rifle Wolves had glowing red devices on their heads. All monsters were glowing gold and had red eyes.

"Steve isn't there," Max said. "He isn't with them!"

Monica looked at Max. Max was looking down at Erik and the others, his eyes searching frantically for the Ridepod. There was a mixture of sadness and anger in his eyes.

"We'll take care of the monsters quickly so we can look for the Ridepod," she said. "But I don't recognize most of these monsters."

"How should we do this?" Gokuu said. "Should we get the drop on them first?"

"Yeah. We'll be able to take them out quicker."

"I'm gonna jump." Gokuu walked to the edge of Kintoun. Max and Monica stepped on both sides of him. They jumped off Kintoun. Monica began to channel her purple energy into her Shamshir while pointing her sword downward. Max was going to shoot at the monsters, but saw what Monica was about to do and stopped. Gokuu also saw this and decided to hold off his attack until Monica attacked first.

Monica's Shamshir hit the ground, sending a shockwave throughout the clearing. Most of the monsters fell on the ground, but none of them disintegrated.

"That was my strongest attack," Monica said as Max and Gokuu landed while hitting monsters that weren't knocked down. "I'm not surprised. Let's be careful."

Max hit monsters around him by swinging his Smash Wrench as hard as he could. He swung it in all directions, sending monsters barreling into other monsters. During a split second when she wasn't being attacked, Monica looked at Max and saw what he was doing. Whereas she was having much trouble defeating the monsters, Max wasn't having trouble at all. He was downing multiple monsters in seconds.

Max saw his wrench begin to glow blue. He pushed through the monsters, trying to get to a safe place so he could upgrade it. He knew it wasn't the best time, but he wanted to inflict as much pain as possible on the monsters.

He climbed the highest tree he saw by jumping from branch to branch. The Rifle Wolves began shooting at him. He got to the top and began synthesizing his wrench with any crystal he got his hands on. He continued to do this until his wrench began to glow green. He built it up: the wrench was enveloped in a green light that was larger than the one before, stopping the action below temporarily, as Monica, Gokuu, and the monsters were entranced by the light. The green light faded away, leaving behind a Cubic Hammer.

Max gripped the hammer tightly and jumped down the tree. He deflected the oncoming bullets with his Jurak Gun while channeling yellow energy into his hammer. He held his hammer downwards in order for him land hammer-first. The monsters watched the growing yellow light emanating from Max, once again mesmerized by the light.

Monica and Gokuu saw what Max was going to do. Gokuu picked up Erik and the other tied citizens. Monica and Gokuu began to run towards a safe place, pushing through the monsters, Gokuu holding on tightly to the citizens. The monsters were too hypnotized to care.

Max landed. The ground shook. It was as though a high-magnitude earthquake was taking place. Max's energy was spread through the ground and in midair. Griffon Soldiers, Rifle Wolves, Gundrons, Spirit Flyers, Zuckys disintegrated as soon as Max's energy hit them. The blow destroyed the red devices that were on top of the monsters' heads. Max's energy covered the clearing, leaving behind a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, all the monsters were gone. There was a large crater where Max had landed.

Monica, Gokuu, Erik, and the other citizens ran up to him.

"That was amazing!" Erik said.

"Yeah!" Gokuu said. "You took out those monsters quick! They were superpowered, too!"

"Good job, Max," Cedric said, putting his hand on Max's shoulder. "You saved us."

"You're okay, right Max?" Adel said, coming up to Max and checking his body. "No scratches? No bruises?"

"No, I'm okay," Max said. "No bruises or anything at all. Thanks for checking."

"Thanks a lot, you three," Milane said. She turned to Monica. "You've improved."

"Thanks," Monica said. She looked up at Gaspard's battleship. "Kintoun!" Kintoun came to her. She jumped on. "Now, I'm going to go take care of Gaspard. You guys stay here." She flew towards the battleship.

* * *

Gaspard and Dr. Jaming stood side by side on the ship, watching the fight below. Gaspard watched Monica closely. Her sword had no effect on the monsters; nevertheless, it was evident that she was more skilled than her father. Gaspard knew that Monica was going to come up to the battleship after the monsters were killed—if she wasn't killed first—and try to defeat him. But it wasn't time for that. Gaspard was busy.

Then, a green light appeared. Everyone was mesmerized, even the monsters with Dr. Jaming's mind-controlling device.

"Make that device stronger, Jaming," Gaspard said.

"Yes, sir, I will."

The green light disappeared. Soon, a yellow light appeared. It fell. It grew until it was larger than the battleship. Then, it landed. The battleship shook. The smoke cleared. Gaspard's eyes widened. Every single monster was gone.

"That's strange…" Dr. Jaming said. "According to my calculations, all those monsters should've been seventy percent above the level of the blond boy and Monica. That black-haired boy is another story, but the other boy and Monica shouldn't have been able to scratch those monsters. This should've been a surefire way to kill them both!"

"Something came over that boy," Gaspard said. "A powerful emotion got hold of him, most likely anger. Humans can be monsters when they're angry, acting only by instinct." He saw Monica climb on the flying cloud. "Let's get back to the palace."

"Yes, sir." Dr. Jaming went inside the deck. Gaspard and the battleship passed through multiple lights as they returned to the past to report to Griffon.

* * *

Monica saw the battleship disappear. "Damn! They got away." She went back to the crowd of people.

"What was that all about?" Milane asked.

"It's personal."

Max looked at Monica. Monica was looking at the spot the battleship disappeared in. There was a mixture of anger and determination in her eyes.

"It's okay," Max said. "We'll get him next time."

"Definitely," Monica said, not taking her eyes off the spot the battleship was in.

"So, uh, waddaya say we get back?" Cedric said. "I know everyone back at Palm Brinks is worried 'bout us."

"I was going to check up on the trees back there soon, anyway," Gordon said.

"And I'd like to see how my bakery is doing," Polly said.

"I want to clean Max's ro— er, the mansion, too," Adel said.

"Actually, why don't you guys wait on the train?" Max said. "We have to find the Ridepod."

"I saw some monsters carrying it that way," Borneo said. He pointed towards the south where the woods started again, but the trees were much thinner than the woods the trio had fought their way through. It was a more wide open space. "It was after we had been captured and tied up."

"Thanks, Borneo. We'll be back as soon as we can. Monica, Gokuu, let's look for the Ridepod."

"Let's," Monica said. She and Gokuu followed Max towards the direction Borneo had pointed in as the citizens went back towards the train.


	20. Hate

**Chapter Twenty: Hate**

The one thing they had in common was that humans had done something unforgivable to them at some point in their lives. Since that point, they branded every human as "bad." That's what had brought them together. But, if they kept failing, they might go their separate ways.

Gaspard and Dr. Jaming knelt before Emperor Griffon. Even though he was a Moon Person, someone who seemed harmless because of his small stature, he was still intimidating. They both knew what he was capable of doing.

"You failed," Griffon said.

"Yes, sir," Gaspard and Dr. Jaming said in unison.

"Please, forgive both of us," Gaspard said. "It was equally our faults."

"If you keep failing like this, I might not be able to give you any more chances," Griffon said. "I'll show you two how it's done soon. Make sure you watch carefully when that time comes." He turned to the crystal ball. "But, for now, let's see how they like it to be hated." He smirked. "This will show them how powerful hate can be."

* * *

"Okay, Steve shouldn't be too hard to find," Max said as he, Monica, and Gokuu ran through the thin woods.

"No, not at all," Monica said, "since this is a pretty open area."

"We'll find him quickly," Gokuu said. "We don't even need Kintoun for this."

"Just so I'm clear, Gaspard's out of the picture, right?" Max said.

"Yes, I'm sure," Monica said. "He ran away with his tail between his legs when he saw that I was coming, so I'm sure the monsters who weren't hypnotized took Steve of their own free will. They shouldn't be powered up, either."

"Good. That'll make things easier."

The trees continued to thin until they disappeared entirely. The trio slowed their pace and paid more attention to their surroundings, as Steve could be anywhere at this point.

"Don't you think this all seems too easy?" Monica said. "I mean, we haven't seen any monsters at all."

"It could be a trap," Max said. "But why would they want to capture Steve?"

"To lure us out. They want to kill us, after all. I'm sure Griffon is overjoyed that every monster we come across wants to kill us. He doesn't need to control them or anything. Just sit back and watch us struggle. I bet that's entertaining."

"He doesn't know what's coming to him," Gokuu said. "Once we find him, we'll tear him up. He won't have anything to be entertained by then."

Max saw a brown speck in the distance. "I think that's Steve!" He ran faster. Monica and Gokuu sped up as well. They got to the speck, and it was the Ridepod.

Max bent down next to it. He examined all sides. "Yep, it's turned off. I'll turn it back on. The switch should be…"

"No time for that!" Monica said. "Let's have Gokuu carry it so we can get out of here before—"

Monsters fell from above and surrounded the trio. There were three monsters: two Zuckys and a Mad Tore.

Monica tightened her grip on her Shamshir. "There aren't that many this time."

"I think it's because we took out the majority of them before," Max said.

"These are still really strong monsters!" Gokuu said. "They're not glowing, but I can tell they're stronger than the monsters we usually face by the energy they're giving off."

Max glared at the monsters for a few moments. Then, he charged towards the monsters.

"Max, wait!" Monica said.

Max kept going. He smashed a Zucky, crushing it into half its original size.

Monica's jaw dropped. "He's catching up with Gokuu…"

"Max catching up with me?" Gokuu said. "He's not even close!" He ran towards another Zucky. He crushed the Zucky the same way Max crushed the other one but, this time, the Zucky was smashed into pieces. Its pieces disintegrated. He grinned at Monica. "Told ya! Besides, Max's mad. He's really strong when he's mad!"

Monica shook her head rapidly. "Gotta focus!" She swung her Shamshir at a Mad Tore. Her sword bounced off.

"But it's just a tree," she said. "How could it be so durable?"

The Mad Tore scratched at her. She backflipped away, picking up her sword as she did so. While in midair, she glanced at Max. Max's Zucky was still fighting normally, despite being the size of a toddler.

She landed lightly on her feet. "Usually, Max's hammer would bounce off, too, but he's driven by rage, and Gokuu's just plain strong, so he destroyed his in one hit. Let's see if my armband can do anything against it." She charged her Crystal Brassard until it rejected any more energy. She launched the fireball. The Mad Tore wasn't fazed by it.

"Maybe this'll work." She began charging all her energy into her Shamshir. Once she put as much energy as she could into it, she swung her sword towards the Mad Tore. Her Shamshir hit the Tore's bark. It began slicing horizontally through the Mad Tore. It did so slowly until it had cut through it completely. The Mad Tore's two halves disintegrated.

"Yes, it worked!" Monica said. "But it didn't put up much of a fight. Strange, considering that it could've wiped the floor with me."

She looked at Max. Max hit the side of his Zucky, sending it into a tree. It disintegrated there, leaving behind a dent. Monica walked over to Max and Gokuu.

"Did your monster fight back at all?" she asked.

"A little," Max said, "but not enough to be a threat."

"My monster didn't attack me more than once," Monica said. "I thought those monsters were out to kill us."

"Maybe they're being controlled, too. We can figure it out later." Max looked at the Ridepod. The Ridepod was still turned off. He went over to it. He looked under the Ridepod and saw the on and off switch. He pressed it.

The Ridepod's lights came on. It stood up. It turned its head slowly towards Max.

"Steve, you're back!" Max said. "Can you explain to me what those monsters did to you and the others?"

The Ridepod threw its fist at him. Max dodged.

"What are you doing?" Max said. The Ridepod threw another punch at him. He dodged again.

Everything became pitch-black. Max was alone, standing in the middle of nothing. A spotlight shone on him. Max looked where the spotlight came from, but saw nothing. Another spotlight appeared across from him, but no one stood where it was.

"What's happening?" Max said. His voice echoed.

"Did you know that I can control anything I want?"This was a different voice. It sounded like a kid's voice, and it echoed.

"Is this who I think it is?" Max said.

"Maybe." The kid's voice.

"You're Emperor Griffon. I know you are."

"'Emperor Griffon?'"He laughed. "So you humans have given me a name out of fear. How pathetic." A Moon Person walked in the middle of the spotlight across from Max. "I've decided to appear before you inside your mind since you've already figured out who I am."

"_You're _Griffon?"

"Not what you were expecting, I see."

Max reached inside his pouch and took out his Cubic Hammer and Jurak Gun. He pointed his gun at Griffon. "If I defeat you right now, it'll be all over."

"Actually, you can't hurt me, and I can't hurt you. This whole place is an image I'm projecting in your mind. You're still standing outside facing your beloved Ridepod, and I'm still in my castle. But don't worry, your body has been rendered inactive, and your Ridepod can't move because no one's controlling it at the moment."

"But the Ridepod doesn't need anyone to control it."

"I made it so it does."

Max stared at Griffon with widened eyes. He dropped his hammer and gun. They made no sound as they hit the ground.

Griffon laughed again. "I'm sure you're dying to know what's going on here."

Max narrowed his eyes. He picked up his hammer and gun and put them in his pouch. "I'm not desperate. I can figure it out myself."

Griffon was quiet for a moment. "What a strong mind you have. Well, I'm going to tell you anyway.

"All the monsters you've encountered before this incident have been acting of their own free will. That's right, they're only attacking you because they hate humans, and they want humans out of their habitats. The army of monsters you encountered earlier in that large clearing was being controlled by Dr. Jaming. Dr. Jaming and Gaspard had come up with a plan to kill you, Monica, and Gokuu. They had put mind-controlling devices on all the monsters they had wanted to use—monsters they were sure were much stronger than you and Monica. They fed them a Stamina Drink of sorts. This Stamina Drink had more chemicals put into it so the effect would last longer and would make them much stronger than a normal Stamina Drink would. But I see you got a little angry and killed them all in one hit.

"I told the monsters you just defeated that I was controlling your Ridepod and to just tire you a little , I'm controlling your precious Ridepod, Steve. The one Cedric created just for you. The one your first invention, the Energy Pack, was for. The one you put so much time into to make it the strongest robot and the greatest best friend ever. Even if you turned it off and then back on, it would still be mind-controlled. Even if you destroyed its core, it would still be mind-controlled. Even if you talked to it all day and all night about all those memories you made together, it would still be mind-controlled. The only way to stop the mind-control is to destroy it."

The area disappeared. Max was back in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. Monica and Gokuu were in front of him.

"Max?" Monica said. "What happened? Your eyes were…blank."

"I'll explain when I'm done," Max said. "Can you two stay out of this fight?"

"Between you and the Ridepod? That's crazy!"

"I have to take it apart. By myself."

"I kinda understand," Gokuu said. "You want a one-on-one fight, but why with the Ridepod?"

"I'll explain later."

Monica and Gokuu climbed up a nearby tree. They stood on the highest branch and watched.

_This isn't Steve, _Max thought. _This is like fighting Griffon. _He aimed the nozzle of his Jurak Gun at the Ridepod's head. He shot. The shots didn't damage the Ridepod at all. He put the gun away and held up his Cubic Hammer.

The Ridepod moved with extraordinary speed towards Max. It stopped inches away from him and threw a punch. Max tried to block it with his hammer, but his hammer was knocked out of his hand, and the Ridepod's fist grazed his face. Max was knocked down. He felt the side of his face swelling up as he picked up the Cubic Hammer. He gritted his teeth and gripped the hammer tightly.

"You're such a coward, Griffon," Max said. "Instead of coming to fight us yourself, you hide behind the Ridepod." He began channeling energy into his hammer.

_If I take out the Ridepod's legs, _he thought, _this battle should be a lot easier._

The Ridepod kicked a boulder. The boulder hit Max in the torso, making him fall on the ground, the boulder still on top of him. Max withdrew all the energy he put into his hammer. He picked the boulder up and threw it at the Ridepod's legs as the Ridepod began running towards him. The boulder hit its legs, breaking upon contact, and it stumbled. It took smaller steps towards Max and limped as it walked.

_Seems like its legs weakened, _Max thought. He picked up another boulder. _One more time! _He threw the boulder at the Ridepod's legs. The Ridepod kicked the boulder back at him. The boulder hit Max in the face, breaking when it hit him. Max felt more of his face swelling up, and he saw drops of blood hit the ground. He looked around. There were no more boulders nearby.

Max began running towards the Ridepod while channeling energy into his hammer. The Ridepod threw a punch at Max. He jumped in the air, dodging it, and then landed on the seat on top of the Ridepod. He hit the Ridepod's head, taking it clean off. The Ridepod's head landed a ways away, but it could still move. The head turned towards Max.

"A bit of a change of plans, but that's okay," Max said. He was punched in his torso, sending him out the Ridepod. He rolled on the ground a few feet and then stopped. He stood up. He ran towards the Ridepod again. The Ridepod threw a punch at him. He guarded, but he still got hurt. He stopped guarding, but he saw the Ridepod in mid-punch. Max realized it was a one-two punch. He jumped over it and then hit its legs, blowing them off. The Ridepod fell on the ground.

_Now for its arms! _Max ran towards it. The Ridepod threw a punch at him. He dodged by jumping straight up, but the Ridepod's other fist hit him in the back, making his back crack and sending him flying upwards. Max fell down and hit his stomach on the seat in the Ridepod. He bounced off the seat and rolled on the ground until coming to a stop.

The Ridepod grabbed Max's legs and threw Max across the clearing. Max hit a tree, his back taking the brunt of the blow, and then fell facedown.

"Max!" Monica yelled. "Gokuu and I can handle the Ridepod! You don't have to keep fighting!"

Max stood up. "I'm okay! I can't show him any signs of weakness!"

"What? Show who? The Ridepod?"

"No!" Max said, running towards the Ridepod. At the last minute, he put one foot forward and baseball-slid under one of its arms. As he did so, he knocked that arm off with his hammer. He grabbed the arm and turned his slide into a run. He pivoted and ran towards it again, holding its arm high. The Ridepod threw a punch at him. Max threw the arm at the Ridepod's fist. The two fists hit each other. Max let go of the Ridepod's arm before the shock could get to him and knock him off balance. The shockwave from the clash made the Ridepod shake, leaving it vulnerable. Max jumped above the Ridepod's arm and, as he came down, knocked the Ridepod's arm off. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he turned around and thrust himself towards the Ridepod's core, his arm that held his Cubic Hammer outstretched. Max went through the Ridepod, tearing its insides, including the core, out. Sparks danced on the Ridepod. Max ran as fast as he could away from the Ridepod.

The Ridepod exploded. When the dust cleared, there were minuscule pieces of it left. Monica and Gokuu jumped off the tree and landed in front of Max.

"I…I took it apart…" Max said.

"That was a good fight!" Gokuu said. "Who knew you could kill a robot?"

"Thanks, Gokuu."

"Let's get you to the train," Monica said. Max's eyes were cloudy and he was breathing heavily. "No, we'll take you to your house instead. You'll get better rest there."

"Please…" Max said. "Don't let my father know about this…" He fell into Gokuu's arms.

"What about everyone else?" Gokuu asked, putting Max over his back. "They said they wouldn't come with us if we didn't bring Erik and the others back, and now that Max is like this, they'll get even more scared to leave."

Monica looked at Max worriedly. "We'll tell them the truth because they deserve to know, but I do have a bad feeling about this."


	21. Mending their Relationship

**Chapter Twenty-one: Mending their Relationship**

Monica, Gokuu, and the rest of the people they had saved were all inside the train, riding back to Palm Brinks. Max lay on a bench with Adel tending to him.

"The monsters took us all out of our homes in the middle of the night," Milane said. "They set fire to my house, and I was forced out."

"Same with me," Polly said.

"And me," Gordon said. "They even set the trees on fire."

"I tried to fight them off," Milane said, "but they were too strong. I'd been training in the forest, but the monsters that came that night looked different and were much stronger than the ones I usually fought."

"They took us all behind the withered tree," Polly said. "We stayed there for what had to have been at least twenty-four hours before you three came and saved us."

Monica turned to Cedric. "How'd you all get captured?"

"The monsters came inside the train while Borneo, Erik and me were 'sleep," Cedric said. "Fortunately, they didn't break the train at all on their way in 'n out. They just picked us up, waking us all up, and took us behind the withered Jurak. Steve was out there to stop 'em, but they threw Steve on the ground and turned him off by pushing the button."

"I still can't believe Max fought against Steve," Erik said. "And _won."_

"But he took quite a beating in the process," Borneo said, looking at Max.

Cedric scratched his head. "Guess this means we'll have to rebuild the Ridepod from scratch." He looked outside and saw Palm Brinks Station approaching. He gave Erik and Borneo a nod, and they ran into the conductor's car. The train came to a stop inside the station. The station appeared to be full of people.

* * *

Max stood in the middle of nothing. Everything was pitch-black. A spotlight shone on him. He knew where this was going.

A spotlight shone across from him. Griffon appeared with the spotlight.

"I see you defeated your Ridepod," Griffon said. "Good job."

"Earlier, you said you could control anything you wanted," Max said. "Why don't you control Monica, Gokuu, or I?"

"You all have strong minds, strong willpowers, and you're too pure. I could never consume your minds with hate. Besides, even if I could, it would make things very boring. I would have no good opposition."

"So if I rebuild the Ridepod with a stronger mind, you can't overtake it."

Griffon laughed. "You think you can create a strong mind? How naïve."

"I'll do something so it can't be taken over again. And I'll warn everyone in Palm Brinks about you so you can't control them."

"Wishful thinking. But I didn't appear to you so you could ask me questions. I came to explain a few things to you.

"I told those monsters that ambushed you when you found your Ridepod what I was going to do to it. Those monsters were there just to take the Ridepod to that location and to tire you out a bit more before your big fight, just to make you suffer a little more."

"Do you always throw away lives like this?"

"I didn't throw away anyone's lives at all. Throwing away lives would just be killing without any purpose, but those monsters served a purpose. Besides, monsters hate humans, and they always come after you. You should rejoice each time one is killed."

"But I don't. No one should be happy when someone is killed."

Griffon stared at Max for a moment and then said, "Moving on. I do have all the Dragonballs except the four-star one, and I do have the Dragon Radar. Even if Buruma makes another one, it'll be useless, as it can only find Dragonballs in one timeline. The Dragonballs exist separately in two timelines, one timeline being mine and the other being yours. You can't get the rest of the Dragonballs unless you come to my time. I had my soldiers in your time watching your every move, but I decided to bring those three soldiers I had for the each of you to my time since I could watch your every move using my crystal ball instead."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"It's getting tiresome, just watching you three trying to figure everything out. I decided to tell you, that way, you'll have other things to talk about. I'll let you rest for now."

"Hold on." Max took out his gun. He shot. Griffon didn't move. The beam went through Griffon. "Just making sure you weren't lying before."

"What, you didn't believe me? I have no reason to lie to you."

The area of nothingness disappeared, and Max fell asleep properly.

* * *

Gokuu left the train first, carrying a patched-up and still unconscious Max. Monica followed. The rest of the saved citizens came out behind her. The station was silent.

"I bet you're all wondering what's going on here," Monica said, a touch of nervousness in her voice.

The station remained silent.

Monica explained everything that had happened, with the others chiming in from time to time. The station was silent from start to finish.

"Max fought against a robot?" Drini yelled. "That's awesome!"

"And you all fought that whole army of monsters by yourselves, too!" Corinne yelled.

"I'm willing to go with you," Claire said, "especially after everything you've been through to rescue everyone."

"That's right," Mayor Need said. "We must stop being afraid of going outside this town. I doubt the monsters will come after us again after Max's feat and, if they do, you three will be right there to save us."

The station erupted with cheering.

"What a mood whiplash," Monica said.

"Now we have to get Max home," Gokuu said.

Monica stood on her toes and looked around. "I don't think his father is here. I bet he's at his house. We have to be careful when we take Max back. Remember, his father absolutely _cannot _find out."

"I'll tell everyone that!" Gokuu said. He jumped on the top of the train and yelled something unintelligible. Everyone stopped at once. Then, he yelled, "Everyone, don't tell Max's father about this! He can't know! Got it?"

There were nods and yeses from the townspeople.

"Okay, thanks! We'll be taking him home now!" Gokuu jumped down.

Claire came up to Monica and Gokuu.

"If you want," she said, "Max can stay at my house. We can take care of him there!"

"That's a great idea!" Monica said. "Now there's less of a chance of his father finding out!"

Claire began leading the way to her house.

* * *

Gerald stood in front of the window in his room, as he spent most of his days doing. He knew Max had left, and he knew that Max had to grow up sometime. Hopefully, this change would be for the better.

He had heard about those missing people and Max and his friends going to save them. Max had never confronted him about going to the outside world. Max wasn't prepared to take on a responsibility this large since he had spent most of his life in a carefree way, but ever since he had gotten old enough to listen to Elena's stories, Max had a longing look in his eyes. Every time Gerald or a servant had gone into his room, he was looking out the window. When they ate dinner together, his eyes were distant. He was there physically, but not mentally.

This happened more often when Elena left. Max would take Claire to the park, and they would stick their heads under the water. Max nearly drowned himself once, and that was the last time he and Claire were allowed to go to the park, at least until they got older. Adel had told Gerald that Max said it was almost like they were in the sea.

The last major time was when Max and Donny went to the station in the middle of the night. They jumped down onto the tracks and almost followed the tracks to the outside world. Stewart found them in the nick of time and took Donny to Morton and Max back home. When Max and Gerald next saw each other, Max said that he had wanted to find his mother. From then on, Gerald knew that Max was a very special boy.

Now Max had left for good, his mind set on finding Elena. Gerald didn't stop him; the outside world would teach him things about life that Palm Brinks never could.

Gerald turned around. He was going to see how Max was doing. He left his room and entered the foyer. Stewart was at the door.

"Are you leaving, sir?" Stewart said. "Would you like me to accompany you?"

"No, not this time," Gerald said. He opened the door, walked outside, and closed the door behind him.

He saw Claire leading Gokuu, carrying an unconscious Max, and Monica. Gokuu looked at Gerald. Monica, seeing this, also looked at Gerald. She stopped immediately and stared at him. Gokuu stopped as well, pointing at Gerald and asking, "Is that Max's dad?" Monica nodded slowly. Claire stopped when she was almost to her door, looked at Monica and Gokuu, and then looked at Gerald. They all stood where they were, staring, speechless, at Gerald.

Gerald began walking towards Monica and Gokuu. Monica and Gokuu stayed where they were. Gerald reached them.

"I've already heard about Max's leaving," Gerald said. "I knew he would come home hurt like this one day. It was inevitable."

Max twitched. "F-Father… I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize to me," Gerald said. "You brought this on yourself. I'd like to have a talk with you after you recover." He turned around and walked back towards the mansion.

* * *

Monica shivered. "What an intimidating man. No wonder Max didn't want him to know." She turned to Claire and Gokuu. "Let's lay him down."

Claire, Monica, and Gokuu spent the next three days tending to a sleeping Max, with Dr. Dell coming at least once a day. Once those three days passed, Max woke up. He was still in pain, however, and needed to stay in bed. He spent the majority of the days sleeping. With each passing day, the time he spent asleep lessened until he was waking up and going to sleep normally. His swelling also went down. Soon, he was able to get out of bed on his own and walk on his own, and his swelling disappeared completely. Max considered himself recovered although he still ached. He decided to go see his father. He put on his red vest and left Claire's house.

Max entered his house. People were standing around, talking, looking at things, the way it always was in the mansion, as his father left the house open for anyone to come in anytime during the day.

Max walked to the door leading to his father's room. He knocked on the door, saying, "Father, are you in there? It's Max." There was no response. Max went into the room.

His father was standing in front of the window as he always did, his hands clasped behind his back. Max didn't remember ever seeing his father doing anything else. He stood where he was, letting the door close behind him.

"You're better?" his father said.

"Yes, I'm definitely better than I was," Max said.

"That's good. Could you sit down with me?"

Max and his father sat across from each other near the fireplace. Max looked his father in the eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before that I was leaving," Max said, "but I had to leave. See, Flotsam, the troupe leader of the circus that came to town, he was coming after me to take my Atlamillia so, if I stayed, I would've been putting many other people in jeopardy. I was going to tell you, but I never got around to it."

"I knew you would leave sometime," Gerald said. "It was easy to tell just by the way you acted before all this happened. But you have to be careful, Max. If you keep getting hurt like this, your body will deteriorate rapidly."

Max nodded. "Yes, Father." His eyes widened as he saw his father avert his eyes and a light blush and small smile appear on his face.

His father whispered, "I'd like to see Elena, too."

Max stared at his blushing father. He had never seen his father show any emotion. He took a picture of this image in his mind. "Elena? You mean Mother?"

His father straightened up, and the look on his face returned to the stern look it always had. "…Yes. I didn't think you heard that."

"Can't you tell me more about her? Anything about where she is?"

"You need to find that out yourself."

Max silently stared at his father.

"You're getting angry. Before, you would've stormed out, but now you're staying where you are."

"I have to find that out myself, huh? I understand. Have you heard about our adventure so far?"

"Yes, Stewart's been telling me. He goes to your storytelling sessions and then tells me all about them. I heard you use a gun. I'd like to see how you handle it. Could you take me to Starlight Canyon and show me how you fight?"

"Yes, Father."

* * *

Max and his father rode the train towards Balance Valley. Max had told Monica and Gokuu that they couldn't come this time. Monica had said she thought it was a bit too early for Max to be fighting again and that he could be straining his body by doing so. Gokuu thought it was fine, saying that the more you fight, the stronger you get, especially when your body's weak.

They arrived at Balance Valley. Max led his father up the road to Starlight Canyon until the condor circled above them. Max waved it down. The condor flew down to their level. Max climbed on, and his father climbed behind him. The condor flew to the first floor, lowered itself, let them off, and flew away.

"Did you bring a weapon?" Max said.

"Yes, but I'm still expecting you to protect me," his father said. "I came to see your skills, not use my own."

Max and his father ran through the dungeon, Max defeating all monsters that came their way with his hammer and gun. He used his gun the most while making sure that his father was safe. They progressed through the floor with no problems until they encountered the last monster of that floor: a Ram.

Max shot at the Ram as the Ram ran towards him. The Ram didn't slow down as the beams hit it. Once the Ram was close, Max guarded. The Ram hit Max, and Max felt some pain. Max lifted up his hammer as the Ram lifted its head up. He swung the hammer towards the Ram but stopped mid-swing, as he suddenly felt pain in his whole body. The pain stunned him.

Max's father withdrew his Grenade Launcher. He inched closer to the Ram and shot as the Ram swung its club towards Max with all its might. The grenade hit the Ram when its club was a hair away from Max, making the Ram stumble backwards.

Max ignored the pain, taking the opportunity his father gave him to lift up his Jurak Gun. As soon as he aimed the gun at the Ram, pain coursed through his body. This pain was stronger than the pain before and made Max drop his weapons. He fell down, scrunching his face, and groaned.

Max's father shot another grenade at the Ram. The Ram stumbled backwards again, and its fur fell off its body, leaving behind a red Ram. Max's father pulled a second trigger, this trigger behind the main one. The Grenade Launcher absorbed air. Max's father pulled the trigger again when he thought it had absorbed enough air. The Grenade Launcher stopped absorbing air. He pulled the main trigger. A normal-looking grenade flew towards the Ram. The grenade hit the Ram. The impact made the Ram fly off the cliff. It landed in the water and disintegrated.

"What you did at the end...what was that?" Max said, looking at his father through one half-opened eye.

"It's a sort of charge attack I made for the gun. I figured that since other weapons have charge attacks, guns should, too. I can install that on your gun if you'd like."

"Yes, I would." Max gave his father the Jurak Gun. He thought back to when the Jurak Gun absorbed its own beam during the fight with the King Mimic. He told his father about that fight.

"That's something only the laser gun possesses," his father explained. "You can do that anytime a monster absorbs your beam and spits it back at you. If the beam is too powerful for the gun to handle, the beam will go through the gun and hit you directly, so it must have high durability. Enough about guns." He extended his arm towards Max, leaving the palm of his hand open. "It seems that you haven't completely recovered from your series of fights in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. Let's go home."

Max took his father's hand, and his father began pulling him up. He stood and let go of his father's hand. He felt the pain again and fell back down.

"I'll have to carry you, then." His father picked him up and carried him, much in a piggyback way, to the condor's perch. The condor, upon arriving, decided to fly them back to Palm Brinks. It was nighttime, and mostly everyone was asleep, making their arrival discreet. Once the condor dropped them off in the town square, it began flying back to Starlight Canyon.

Max moaned. His father looked back at him.

"It won't take long to get you in your bed," his father said. His father looked ahead, and they walked in silence for a few more seconds. His father turned back and looked at Max again. "Max, are you awake?"

Max moaned and lifted his head a little.

His father smiled. "I'm proud of you."


	22. Huge Dragon Counterattack

**Chapter Twenty-two: Huge Dragon Counterattack**

Max, in his bed, watched his father place the upgraded Jurak Gun on his desk.

"Thank you, Father," Max said. "I can't wait to try it out."

"Don't rush yourself," his father said. "Get all the rest you need before you get up."

"Yes, I will."

"Now, pay close attention. I'm only going to explain this once. Unlike normal charge attacks, this requires none of your own energy, but you should still use it wisely. If you use it more than three times in one day, your gun will break permanently, so make sure your gun rests for at least twenty-four hours if you use three charge attacks in a day."

"Gun Repair Powder won't work if it breaks from using the charge attack?"

"No, it won't. That's why you should only use it in dire situations."

"I understand."

"You handled your gun well. If you'd like, I can go to the outside world with you."

"That's great! We can use all the people we can get to live in the outside world."

"I'll be in the train." Max's father turned around and left the room.

* * *

Max was drifting to sleep when he heard the door open.

"He's asleep. Let's go back." It was Monica's voice.

"Oh, okay." Gokuu's voice.

Max opened his eyes. "No, it's fine. You can come in if you want."

Monica looked at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Monica and Gokuu came into his room.

"Your father told us what happened," Monica said.

"Speaking of explaining things," Max said, "I need to tell you what happened right before my fight with the Ridepod and while I was unconscious."

Max explained his two encounters with Griffon.

"So Griffon's only a rabbit?" Gokuu said. "He must be really powerful if he can control people's minds."

"I can't believe you saw him," Monica said. "We should take everything he says with a grain of salt, though. He might be trying to manipulate us. He has no reason to lie to us?" She rolled her eyes. "Come on."

"Remember that those rabbits are Moon People," Max said. "They have powerful magic at their disposal."

"I've never seen a Moon Person before, I think," Gokuu said. "Those are the people from the moon, right? Kamesennin destroyed the moon when I turned into an ape so I wouldn't turn into an ape again."

"So that's why there are so many of them down here now," Monica said. "There was a time when you would hardly see any. The blast from Kamesennin scattered them, and that's why most of them hate humans!"

"We can go get Kamesennin if you want."

"It sounds like he would cause more harm than good to us right now. Let's not."

"While we're waiting for Max to get better, I can go to the next floor in Starlight Canyon. I should be able to clear a few floors."

"Let's do that! I'll stay here and take care of Max. Thanks, Gokuu!"

"No problem. I'm off!" Gokuu ran out the door.

"I was thinking of fishing for a little while today," Max said, getting out of bed. He took out his fishing rod from his closet. He saw worry spread on Monica's face and said, "Don't worry, it doesn't put stress on your body."

Max left his room. Monica put her hand on her forehead, sighed, and then followed him.

* * *

Gokuu was covered in sweat when he arrived at Starlight Canyon, as he had run, letting the condor lead him to the floor he, Max, and Monica had left off. Golems slid down the canyon wall and ran over to him.

"Ah, it's you guys!" Gokuu said.

"Yes, we meet again," one of the Golems said. "Where are those other two who were with you before?"

"They're back in Palm Brinks."

The Golems cocked their heads and looked at each other in hopes of finding out what and where Palm Brinks was. They weren't able to figure it out.

"We've come to warn you about the Elfas that you're about to face," the lead Golem said. "This used to be Gemron territory, but they killed all the Gemrons and took it for themselves. This territory consists entirely of Elfas now. If you would like, we can help you in their…extinction. They're unneeded in Starlight Canyon."

"No, it's fine," Gokuu said. "I was gonna do this by myself, but you can follow me if you want."

The lead Golem looked at the other Golems. The other Golems nodded.

"Okay. We'll assist you if we see that you need help."

The Golems scaled the walls until they were out of sight. Gokuu began his run through the floor.

* * *

When Max and Monica arrived at the pier, they saw Fabio standing at the end of the pier with his boat in front of him, staring at the lake. Max had always seen Fabio there, even as a child, and wondered if he had a house to stay in or if his boat was his home.

Fabio turned around as Max and Monica approached. He returned to his original position after he gave them a good look. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Max cast a fishing line. He turned his head to look at Max.

"What's the biggest fish you've ever caught?" Fabio said.

Max glanced at Fabio. "Um, a 52-centimeter Nonky."

Fabio chuckled. "My biggest was a 60-centimeter Nonky. If you can catch a Nonky bigger than that, I'll go with you on your adventure."

"But what about everything Max did just to get people to come to the outside world?" Monica said.

"Fighting means nothing to me. I only respect people who are better fishers than I am."

"Just one pain after the other…" Monica mumbled.

"Alright," Max said. "I'll do it."

* * *

Gokuu progressed through the floor without any problems when the Golems slid down the wall and blocked his way.

"I'm sorry, Gokuu," the lead Golem said, "but we can't resist beating up on just one Elfas. After seeing all those horrible things they did to the Gemrons, we'd like to get our fair share of revenge on them as well."

"I really wanted to take them on alone to test myself," Gokuu said.

"Just let us fight at least one Elfas. Please."

"Okay. I'll stay outta your fight."

The Golems looked at each other with glee.

"I see a few ahead," the lead Golem said. "Let's get them!"

The Golems charged towards the Elfas at full speed. One of the Golems in the front of the pack looked up. The rest of the Golems looked up, as did Gokuu and the Elfas. The Golems skidded to a stop. Large, purple monsters with long tails and wings flew towards the Elfas.

A Golem turned around to face Gokuu. "Gokuu, we're actually going to sit this one out! The Dragons have them taken care of!"

Gokuu cocked his head. "Huh?" He jumped above the Golems and clung to the wall to watch.

The Elfas ran away from the Dragons. The Dragons easily caught up with them. One Dragon punched an Elfas, sending it barreling into other Elfas. They all crashed through a wall at least a mile away. They disintegrated at the same time. Another Dragon chopped an Elfas' side, making a cracking noise that echoed throughout the valley. The victim fell hard onto the ground and then bounced up. The Dragon kicked it into the remaining Elfas. The Elfas disintegrated upon contact.

"Wow, those guys are strong!" Gokuu said. "I wanna fight those purple monsters! It looks like they'll be my first good challenge in a while!"

The Dragons glared back at the Golems. The Golems flinched. The Dragons flew up and over the walls.

Gokuu slid down the wall and ran over to the Golems. "What were they? And what're you all looking so scared for?"

"Those were Dragons," a trembling Golem said, "the rulers of Starlight Canyon. You don't mess with them."

"Why not?"

"They're incredibly strong, as you just saw," the lead Golem said, walking towards Gokuu. "Even we could be defeated by them. I can see what the Elfas were trying to do, though: kill the Dragons-to-be and then kill the Dragons themselves so the Elfas could be the rulers of the canyon."

"You mean the Gemrons were the Dragons-to-be?"

"Yes. What the monsters have here is a kind of hierarchy. Picture in your mind a pyramid, and split it into five sections horizontally."

Gokuu did so.

"Now, put the Dragons at the top; the Elfas, the Golems, and the Yo-yo Robots below them; the Rams below them, the Smiling Fairies below them and, at the bottom, the Masked Tribesman. See it?"

"Yeah, I see," Gokuu said.

"There are a few more monsters in the hierarchy, but you haven't encountered any of them yet. But that's the hierarchy. The Dragons preside over everything in the canyon. They were training the Gemrons to be strong enough to evolve into full-fledged Dragons and rule the canyon. We, the Golems, were going to kill the Elfas to try and avenge the Gemrons and get on the Dragons' good side, but that didn't happen. I know that sounds selfish, but you have to do what you have to do to survive."

"I'm sure the Gemrons could've become strong on their own and evolved themselves," another Golem said, "but if they refused the Dragons' training regiments, the Dragons would've killed them. But now that the Gemrons are all gone, the Dragons don't have anyone to succeed them."

"I'm sure you all could succeed them," Gokuu said. "You're the second-strongest on the hierarchy."

"Yes, I'm fairly confident in our abilities," the lead Golem said. "We must become strong before the Dragons die out."

"I'd better fight them before they all die," Gokuu said. "Where do they live?"

"Close to the end of the canyon, almost near the sea," the lead Golem said. "If you really are going to fight them, I wish you the best of luck."

The Golems climbed up and over the canyon walls.

Gokuu looked around. The floor was empty and silent. "I guess I should go the condor's perch now and go to the next floor." He began walking towards the condor's perch.

* * *

Night fell over Palm Brinks. Fabio was lying in his boat, asleep. Monica had accidentally fallen asleep while sitting cross-legged behind Max. Max was still standing up, fishing.

Max saw a large shadow in the water. He smiled wryly.

"I hope that this is a Nonky." Max gripped the pole tighter. He felt the fish grab his hook. It gave a hard pull, and Max fell into the water, leaving his hunting cap behind.

Monica, hearing the splash, opened her eyes. "Did you catch anything?" She looked up and saw Max gone with only his cap on the pier.

"Oh, no…" Monica ran to the spot Max was and stuck her head underwater. She saw Max being dragged away, still holding on to his fishing rod and a giant, transparent fish's jaw clenched around his leg. Its shape was like that of a kaji's, but it had an antenna on its head and a golf-sized ball that shined a golden-yellow. The glowing ball was the only part of the fish that wasn't transparent. She pulled her head out of the water and ran over to Fabio. She shook Fabio until he woke up.

"If Gokuu happens to come by," she said, "tell him that Max fell in the lake and I went to go find him." She pointed to the spot Max had fallen in. "Tell him that he can jump in the lake to help." She ran back to the spot Max had fallen in and dove in the lake. She could still see Max and the fish swimming away.

The thought that the fish was a ghost entered her mind, but she dismissed it quickly. She swam after them and began to charge her Crystal Brassard.

* * *

Gokuu entered Max's room, covered in sweat once again. Max and Monica were missing.

"They musta gone out," Gokuu said. "I'll go find them!" He ran out the mansion and explored Palm Brinks' residential area, going in every house and then heading to the lake. He saw Max's cap on the pier and someone who looked like a Firbit standing in front of a boat, facing the lake. Gokuu ran over to the Firbit.

"Have you seen Max and Monica?" Gokuu asked.

"Max fell into the lake, over there" —he pointed to the spot Max's cap was in— "and the red-haired girl dove in to save him."

"That means I gotta dive in to help save him, too!" Gokuu said. "Thanks!" He jumped into the lake. He looked around, seeing no sign of Max or Monica anywhere, and decided to swim straight. He swam as fast as he could.

* * *

Monica released the ball of lightning that she had been charging with her Crystal Brassard. The ball of lightning passed through the fish and hit Max, electrocuting him, and he yelped. Max looked at her.

"Sorry, Max!" Monica yelled. "I guess I'll just follow you for now and see where the fish takes you! If it tries to attack you, I'll do my best to stop it!"

"Got it!" Max replied.

Suddenly, something was swimming next to Monica. Monica withdrew her sword out of instinct and swung it at the something. The person, Gokuu, dodged it.

"It's me, Gokuu!"

"That's the second time I've done that," Monica said, her entire face turning red. "Sorry, Gokuu. You got my message?"

"Uh-huh!" Gokuu said. "I got through that floor in Starlight Canyon and got the Geostone. I went to the next floor, but there wasn't anything there."

"We'll have to check that out later." She looked at Max and the fish. "But our priority right now is saving Max."

Monica and Gokuu surfaced for a moment to catch their breath and then continued to follow the large fish towards what appeared to be a city.


	23. The Ruler of the Pond

**Chapter Twenty-three: The Ruler of the Pond**

Max and the giant fish, the Kaji, went towards a city. All the tall, bottle-shaped buildings were transparent. A large building towered above the others. Other fish that were also transparent swam around the city, talked to each other, did things humans would do in Palm Brinks. Opaque fish were doing the same things, but they weren't interacting with the transparent ones, and the transparent ones didn't interact with the opaque ones.

Max gasped for air. The Kaji suddenly turned around so it faced Monica and Gokuu. Monica and Gokuu stopped. It swam at them with blinding speed and gripped their legs with its teeth. Having all three of them captured, it surfaced and then vomited three fishbowls. The fishbowls flew towards the trio. They caught the fishbowls, Monica's face covered with displeasure and then with confusion, as the fishbowls had no vomit or saliva on them.

The Kaji said something in a language the three of them couldn't understand.

"You mean you want us to put these on our heads?" Max guessed.

The Kaji nodded.

Gokuu put it on. Oddly, the fishbowl had no scent to it. Max and Monica followed his lead.

The Kaji dove underwater. It began swimming towards its goal again. They arrived at the center of the city where the largest building was located. They entered the large building.

A receptionist was inside behind a transparent counter, staring at its fins with satisfaction. It was also transparent and had a resemblance to a Heela. Like the giant Kaji, it had an antenna on its forehead and a glowing ball at the end of the antenna, the glowing ball the only opaque part of its body. She looked at the Kaji and then looked at Max, Monica, and Gokuu. She nodded.

The Kaji swam inside the large, opaque room, brown on half of the floor, white on the other. Four rows of transparent fish were in the front of the room, glaring at the trio, one row on top of the other, all with antennas on their foreheads. In the fourth row, the tallest row, was a Nonky that was bigger than the Kaji. All the fish floated on the white portion of the floor.

The Kaji let go of Max, Monica, and Gokuu, and the trio drifted to the floor, landing on the brown portion. They looked up at the fish above them.

"We have known about you for a while," the Nonky said.

"What?" Max whispered to Monica and Gokuu. "How come we can understand them now?"

"Maybe they've learned the human tongue," Monica whispered. "I think the reason that other fish didn't talk to us is because it never learned it."

The Nonky cleared its throat. The trio immediately looked at it.

"We have heard about the horrible things you've done to fishkind with your stick," the Nonky continued, "the one the yellow-haired one is holding right now!"

Everyone's attention turned to the fishing rod Max had held on to the entire time.

"I've only used this once in this pond," Max said, "and that time, I was pulled down here." Monica and Gokuu nodded rapidly to attest to that.

"We don't believe you," the Nonky said. "We have already decided that you're guilty."

"When was the trial?" Monica blurted out.

"A trial was unnecessary. It was understood among all the fish. And we have been planning our vengeance on you for a while. Your companions will be getting punished, too, as they knew of your dangerous stick yet did nothing about it."

"They must be thinking of Fabio," Max whispered. "Fabio always fishes in this pond."

"But we can't tell them that," Monica whispered, "or Fabio'll be pulled down here."

The Nonky cleared its throat louder than before. The trio looked at him at once.

"Your stick has cost us countless lives," the Nonky said. "First, you make it appear as though there's food on it. We grab it. We pull. You pull harder, enough to take us to your air-filled world, where we die. A few have been burned to death and then eaten." The Nonky spread out its arms. "This city contains all the fish that you have killed. Our bodies have left us, but our spirits are here. We thought we were doomed to live eternally, but then we found out that we cannot die because we are not at peace. We assumed that we cannot be at peace until we kill you—" it pointed at Max "—the one who has been taking fishes' lives, something that we discovered was bothering all of us. Once we do that, our torment will be over, and we will be able to die. We would have told the fishes that are still alive about you, but they cannot see us, and we cannot interact with them at all, except for us being able to see them. How it is that you are able to see us and touch us is a mystery, but it is good for us. Without the ability to interact with you, the humans, we would be unable to exact our revenge upon you."

"Griffon…" Monica said through grinded teeth.

_That's right. _The voice that had entered her thoughts sounded like a child's. She narrowed her eyes.

"But you said you 'assumed' that we're the problem!" Max said. "You don't know if it'll work!"

"If it doesn't," the Nonky said, "I'm terribly sorry. You all will just be collateral damage."

The Nonky nodded at the Kaji. The Kaji took off the trio's fishbowls. The trio began gasping for air.

The Nonky pulled out a red button from under his row. "Let's see if you can survive down here."

It pressed the button. The floor opened up below the trio, and the trio fell into darkness. It was a slow fall, as they were underwater. As they fell, they saw a dim light and a floor. They landed on their feet, and the floor above them closed. Pipes extended from the walls and absorbed all the water, leaving the trio free to breathe.

A line extended in front of them from the ceiling. At the end of the line was a hook, and on the hook was Premium Chicken.

"Wow, just in time!" Gokuu said. "I'm hungry!" He drooled at the sight of the Premium Chicken. He almost jumped at the chicken, but Max put his arm out in front of him, and he stopped.

"Hold on," Max said. "It looks like they're trying to bait us, just like humans normally do to catch fish. I wouldn't go near it."

"Before you go past it…" It was the Nonky. Its voice echoed throughout the corridor. "We're keeping someone important to you where the hook would have taken you. Someone who is helpless, and someone you must save."

"Fabio?" Max said.

"Maybe," the Nonky said.

"This is obviously a trap," Monica said.

"But how can we be sure that they really aren't keeping Fabio here?" Max said.

"There's only one way to find out!" Gokuu said. "Grab my hand, and hold on tight!"

Monica grabbed Gokuu's hand, and Max grabbed Monica's hand. Gokuu gripped the chicken, and they were pulled upwards. They were launched into an empty room. The area they entered through closed, and they landed on the new ground, Monica landing on one knee, Gokuu landing on both his feet, Max falling facefirst, his hat rolling off.

Gokuu looked around. "Fabio isn't here."

"Just as I thought," Monica said as Max stood up and put his hat back on.

The fishing hook baited with the Premium Chicken was reeled into the ceiling. Pipes extended from the thick, gray walls. Water began pouring in the room through the pipes.

"Let's see how you like it when you're taken away from your air-filled world and into a place where you can't breathe!" the Nonky said.

Monica bent down and began hitting the floor with her fist. "We have to find a way out of here! Try to find a weak spot in the walls!"

Max got up and ran to the wall. He began moving his hand over the wall. Gokuu ran to the wall opposite Max and began doing the same thing.

Soon, the water engulfed Monica, and she wasn't able to test the floor. She ran to a vacant wall and began hitting it with her fist. Gokuu, the shortest of the trio, was covered with water when standing. He continued to test the wall below the water, jumping above the water and taking breaths every now and then.

Gokuu saw a crack in the wall. He punched it. The crack became larger. Gokuu jumped out of the water, turning himself towards Max and Monica. "Over here!"

Max and Monica ran to Gokuu. Gokuu pointed at the crack and jumped out of the water once again to say, "I'm gonna bust through it!"

As Gokuu landed in the water, Max and Monica backed away from him. Gokuu backed straight away from the crack. He charged at the crack, shoulder-first, and broke through the wall. The water pushed Max and Monica through the wall. The trio fell in an arena, water crashing down on them.

No water was in the arena, save for the water that had just come out of the room. Because of the size of the arena, the water was no longer a threat to them. The stands were filled with transparent fish. The Nonky was sitting like a human across from the trio, and the Kaji was next to it.

"Good job," the Nonky said. "Now you must survive here."

"How come they can breathe?" Gokuu said.

"They don't have physical bodies," Monica said. "All they have is their spirits, so they don't need to breathe anymore."

Out of the room the trio had just left came three large, transparent fish: one an Umadakara, another a Niler, and the last a Baku Baku.

"I guess we can each take one," Max said, putting away his fishing rod and withdrawing his Cubic Hammer and Jurak Gun.

"Yeah," Monica said, taking out her Shamshir.

"I'll take that one," Gokuu said, pointing at the Umadakara.

Max pointed at the Baku Baku. "I'll take on that one, then."

"That leaves me with the Niler," Monica said.

Gokuu ran towards the Umadakara. He jumped and thrust out his leg to kick the Umadakara. His leg passed through it.

"Huh?" Gokuu said. Unable to stop, his body passed through the Umadakara. The Umadakara hit Gokuu's head with its tail, sending Gokuu into the ground, his head the only part of his body above ground.

Gokuu looked at Max and Monica and saw that they were having the same problem as he. "Hey, you guys! I can't hit mine, either! What do we do?"

Max and Monica stopped trying to hit their fish and dodged the fishes' attacks instead.

"Let's try to figure something out!" Monica said.

Gokuu saw flashing red and blue lights as he was hit on the head by the Umadakara's tail. He shook his head to come back to his senses. As soon as he did so, the Umadakara's tail hit him again, driving him more underground. He tried to push himself out, but the Umadakara's hits were quick enough to keep forcing him in.

Max thought about all the transparent fish as he dodged the Baku Baku's teeth. They were all ghosts and, as Monica had said, there was a possibility Griffon had something to do with this. Griffon was impure. Therefore, the fish were impure. What did they do when something was impure? Normally, they would beat the something up until Griffon was driven out of its system. They couldn't do that here, as the fish were immune to their attacks but, somehow, the fish were able to attack them. All Max could do was attribute that to Griffon's doing as well. What could they do in this situation?

He thought about everything he had in his pouch: Antidote Drink, Soap, Holy Water… Holy Water might work.

He opened his pouch and took out the Holy Water. He took the stopper out and threw the water on the Baku Baku's head. The Baku Baku roared and reared back, smoke emanating from its head. Everyone looked at Max and the Baku Baku. Max drenched his Cubic Hammer and Jurak Gun in Holy Water. He took out two more vials of Holy Water and threw one to Monica. She poured the Holy Water on her Shamshir and Crystal Brassard.

Seeing the trouble Gokuu was in, he ran to Gokuu and, while the Umadakara had its tail lifted up, drenched Gokuu's head in Holy Water. When the Umadakara's tail hit Gokuu's head, the Umadakara lifted its smoking tail up immediately, roaring in pain. Gokuu used much of his strength to force himself out of the hole, hitting the Umadakara's tail again with his head. The Umadakara roared louder. Gokuu landed on his feet. Max gave him the Holy Water and returned to the Baku Baku, which was recovering from the hit, though smoke still emanated from its body.

Monica's Shamshir dripped Holy Water, and Holy Water ran down her left arm. She charged her Crystal Brassard. A pink orb grew close to her brassard.

_The Holy Water must've given my brassard the holy attribute, _Monica thought. She charged it halfway full and then shot. The orb hovered above Monica and the Niler for a moment and then hit the Niler's torso. The Niler wheeled backwards and roared. The Baku Baku and Umadakara also roared as they were hit by Max and Gokuu.

"Don't give them any chances!" Monica yelled at Max and Gokuu. Max and Gokuu nodded. Monica jumped towards the Niler. She sliced its head off, and it disintegrated.

"That's not the most peaceful way to die, but…" Monica looked at Max and Gokuu. Smoke was emanating from all areas of the Baku Baku's body. Max pulled the trigger on his gun, and a beam hit the Baku Baku where its heart would have been if it were still alive. The beam went through the Baku Baku, and it disintegrated. Gokuu punched the Umadakara in the eye. Then, he seemed to disappear. Monica was able to follow him because of smoke erupting from the Umadakara's back. Gokuu appeared again, on the ground, and then backflipped away from the Umadakara. The Umadakara fell to the ground and disintegrated.

Three more fish entered the arena, the same type of fish as before.

"I think they want us to do this forever!" Max said.

Monica turned to the Nonky. "We're sorry! We'll never fish here again, and we'll make sure that no one else fishes here again!"

"You don't understand," the Nonky said. "Not all of these fish are from this pond. There are fish from other areas as well. And we don't believe your promise."

"What can we do to make it up to all of you?" Gokuu said.

The Nonky looked at the fish around it. The fish stared back at it. They all nodded. The Nonky glared at the trio.

"Before you continue this," Max said, "can you hear us out for a second?"

All eyes were on Max.

"If you do kill us, isn't there a chance that we could come back and get revenge on you? And then the fish we kill will come back and try and get revenge again! It'll be a neverending cycle! None of us will be at peace. We'll all just be spirits on Earth, and we won't be able to communicate with the living ever again. We'll all be unhappy! So maybe it's best if we stop this cycle now. Like Monica said, we'll stop fishing, and if we do fish, we'll throw you back in the water."

The Nonky's expression softened, and it spoke in a less commanding voice. "We just wanted to show you what we fish go through. It's probably just natural to you humans to catch us on your sticks, like some of the fish down here eat the smaller fish. Maybe we do not have to torture you in order to feel better. We have not tried to accept that before. If we do that, maybe we'll finally be able to die." It looked at the fish around it. "Do we all accept what the humans do?"

Before the fish could respond, the Kaji launched itself from beside the Nonky and gripped the trio's legs using its teeth. It looked at the Nonky disdainfully and then swam upwards out of the arena. The trio began hitting it as hard as they could, Max and Monica with their weapons, Gokuu with his fists. The Kaji flinched each time it was hit, and smoke emanated from its body, but it still kept going.

Behind them were the fish from the arena, the Nonky leading. The Kaji emerged from the pond, flying some feet in front of the pier, the other fish following it. Max looked at Fabio, who was still standing at the end of the pier. It was the first, and probably last, time Max saw Fabio's eyes.

They landed back in the water. The Nonky said something the trio couldn't understand to the rest of the fish. The Kaji swam faster. The fish began swimming underneath the Kaji. The Nonky once again said something unintelligible. The fish charged through the Kaji, leaving behind a hole encompassing almost the entirety of the Kaji's body. The Kaji roared and disintegrated.

The trio turned themselves upright.

"Thanks for saving us," Max said.

"It was our pleasure," the Nonky said. "Someday, maybe the living fish will come up with something to stop you humans from catching fish. No, I am confident they will be able to do it. We no longer feel any need to exact our revenge upon you. You may continue fishing in this lake and anywhere you please. They will find something to stop you from fishing."

"We'll keep that in mind," Max said. "Hopefully, they'll all be able to die peacefully from now on."

"Yes, I hope so, too. I do believe there was an evil energy in us compelling us to do this, but I do not feel it anymore, and I do not think any of the other fish feel it, either."

The Nonky and the other fish began to disintegrate. They all began to smile from fin to fin.

The Nonky closed its eyes. "Finally, after so long…" It and the other fish disintegrated.

The trio surfaced. After catching their breath, they climbed on the pier and explained what had happened to Fabio.

"I'm sorry," Fabio said. "That was all my fault. Before Palm Brinks closed its gates to the outside world, I used to go all over the world and fish. This was one of the places I was fishing at when the mayor cut Palm Brinks off, and I couldn't go outside again. I came here at a bad time. I miss going to the outside world and fishing. I'll go with you."

Monica breathed a sigh of relief. Fabio turned around and began walking towards the station.

* * *

Two days later, after a day of rest, the trio went to Sindain and rebuilt it. Everyone who lived in Sindain returned to their homes. Then, they went to Balance Valley and began the trek up Starlight Canyon.

"There wasn't anything in the floor after the one I got through," Gokuu said.

"I think that means we should take that other path in Starlight Canyon," Monica said. "The moon path we saw on the floor with all the elephants."

The condor swooped beside them. Max and Monica climbed on while Gokuu stayed on the ground.

"I'll catch up with you!" Gokuu said. He began running towards the floor that had previously held the elephant army. The condor flew ahead.

Once they arrived at that floor, the condor and Gokuu continued through the moon path to the next floor. Upon arriving, the condor stopped close to the ground. Max and Monica got off.

"I guess we'll need another piece of Giant Meat if you're going to take us anywhere again," Monica said.

The condor nodded.

"I understand. You need to eat, too."

The condor took to the skies and flew over the valley towards the sea.


	24. Old Enemies

**Chapter Twenty-four: Old Enemies**

In a way, it felt good to be back to running through floors together with no drama surrounding them. Then, Gokuu told Max and Monica about what the Dragons did to the Elfas and the Dragons' place in the monster hierarchy.

"Don't they seem strong?" Gokuu said. "I wanna fight at least one of them!"

"I'd figured we'd get caught up in something," Monica said. "We _are_ friends with the Golems."

"Luckily, we're friends with the second-strongest monsters," Max said. "As long as we or the Golems don't do anything to make the Dragons mad, we should be fine."

"I…think you just jinxed us, Max."

They came across a Golem during their run. They stopped to talk to it.

"We have a few questions for you," Monica said. "You can understand me, right?"

The Golem nodded.

"It's really weird how you can understand us, but we can't, especially since you're hardly ever around humans. But anyway, if we defeat any of these monsters on this floor, will we get in trouble with the Dragons? I mean, we're friends with you now, and I'm sure the Dragons won't be very happy if we start killing all the other monsters except the Golems. They probably already know, but still."

"It's fine," the Golem said. "Us Golems knew what we were getting ourselves into when we made friends with you humans. I think the Dragons understand that you're the ones getting attacked and not the ones attacking. As long as you keep that up, you'll be fine. Besides, you did try to help the Gemrons. I can't help you get through this floor, though. The Dragons may slaughter me for attacking one of my fellow monsters. I'm sorry about that."

Gokuu translated.

"That's okay," Monica said. "You have to do what you have to do." She looked around, seeing the silhouettes of Masked Tribesmen. "We shouldn't have any trouble defeating the monsters here."

"If it helps, all the Elfas, and I mean every single one that used to live in this canyon, children and adults alike, are gone," the Golem said. "The Dragons killed them all for killing the Gemrons, so you don't have to worry about that anymore."

Gokuu translated again.

"That's good news," Max said, looking at his hammer and gun, knowing that they wouldn't have much effect on the Elfas' tough skin.

The Golem nodded respectfully. It scaled the wall to the right and then ran on the surface away from the trio.

"I don't think we can bring the Ridepod around here anymore," Max said. "I don't think the Dragons will be too pleased when they see a robot following us around."

The trio swept through the floor. Under the assumption that they were always being watched by the Dragons, they only fought when the monsters fought them. Max took the Geostone and put it in his pouch.

None of them were tired when they arrived at the condor's perch. Max gave the condor Giant Meat, and they proceeded to the next floor.

Gokuu met Max and Monica at the next floor, as he had run to the floor. Max and Monica dismounted the condor. The trio waved at the condor as it flew away, and it winked at them.

Small straw huts lined the canyon walls. Yellow grass covered the entrances. Smoke rose out of the huts through a hole in the middle of the roofs. Smiling Fairies walked around, picking up small boulders and throwing them to see if anything was inside, sitting on the edge of the canyon and staring out into the distance, talking to each other. Some were playing inside a nearby spring, the kind of spring the trio used to heal themselves when needed.

A variety of smells made their way into the trio's nostrils. The sky was turning yellowish-red, meaning it was around dinnertime.

A Smiling Fairy's hand, holding a bell, poked out from the hut to which the trio was closest. The Smiling Fairy rang the bell, and two other Smiling Fairies, one from inside the spring, another from the edge of the canyon, ran inside the hut.

"Cover me!" Monica said as she ran behind Max and pulled out her Himarra badge. Max spread out his arms, and Gokuu covered her left side as Monica transformed. The transformation finished within five seconds, and Monica emerged from behind Max.

A Smiling Fairy that was talking to another of its kind looked at the trio from out of the corner of its eye. Its sentence trailed off. It looked squarely at them. The other Smiling Fairy saw its friends' interest change and looked at the trio. Smiling Fairies that had seen this turned their attention to the trio until all the Smiling Fairies' attention was on them.

The Smiling Fairy that was the first to notice them ran to Monica. It leaned in closely to her.

"Ah!" it said. "You're the one we've been hearing about! The traveling Himarra that's friends with humans! It must've been quite something, coming all the way from Rainbow Butterfly Wood!" It smelled her arm. "The rumors are right! You do smell like a human, sort of!"

"That's because I'm around humans most of the time," Monica said.

The Smiling Fairy smelled Max and Gokuu's arms. "But you don't smell like them. If you hang around them all the time, you would've picked up their scent. But you have your own distinct smell."

"Does this mean the Himarra's turning into a human?" another Smiling Fairy said.

Gasps echoed all around the village. The Smiling Fairies who had gone in for dinner came out and looked at the scene. The same, surprised expression the other Smiling Fairies had encompassed their face.

"Of course not!" Monica said. "That's not even possible!"

"But you have your own eye color!" the Smiling Fairy that had come up to her said. "Only humans have their own eye colors!"

Whispers were all around the village. Even though Max couldn't understand what they were saying, he could tell this wasn't a good situation just by looking at the Smiling Fairies' faces.

"And ya know what else?" the Smiling Fairy said. "There aren't supposed to be any Himarras left! I heard from the Ballalas that three humans, one with yellow hair, one with red hair, and the last with black hair, and a few Sonic Bombers killed them! And two of those humans are you two!" It pointed at Max and Gokuu.

"They attacked me first," Gokuu said. "The other humans came to help 'cause that entire Himarra army held me down, and I couldn't move at all."

"But you, Son Gokuu, were on the Himarras' side first, but then it was revealed that you were a neutral party all along!"

Yells echoed throughout the valley.

"How dastardly!"

"How evil!"

"How _stupid_."

"But it's not our problem," the Smiling Fairy said. "It's the Ballala's. I'm sure they would love to get their hands on you. And I'm sure they'll hunt that red-haired human and those Sonic Bombers down and get them, too." A sinister grin spread over its face. "Let's get 'em."

Within seconds, the trio was being carried up the canyon wall closest to them. The entire village helped carry them. A group of Smiling Fairies carried each of the trio.

"Lucky for you, they're right next door!" the Smiling Fairy said. It and the other Smiling Fairies stood at the top of the wall and threw them down. The trio fell in a slightly foggy floor, Gokuu landing on his feet, Max falling facefirst, his hat rolling off, and Monica, who wasn't used to falling on her Himarra legs, almost fell completely, but caught herself with her hands.

"If we don't get out of here soon," Monica said, standing up and gripping a protruding part of the canyon wall, "we'll be in trouble. I'm sure those Ballalas will recognize us right away."

A Ballala came around the corner and saw the trio. "You…!" it said.

"Hurry!" Monica said, climbing the wall as fast as she could with her leaf-like hands. Max was beside her, and Gokuu was ahead of them.

The Ballala let out a cry. Many other Ballalas turned the corner and saw the trio. Immediately recognizing them, they ran to the wall and began climbing after them.

"We told you we'd return, Son Gokuu!" a Ballala said. "Some remnants of us were left behind when we were killed, and we evolved into stronger forms of ourselves: the Ballalas! We'll have to thank the Smiling Fairies when we get a chance!"

"You cowards!" another Ballala called from below. "Especially you, Himarra! You joined up with the humans so you wouldn't die with your comrades! See where that got you? You couldn't evolve like the rest of us!"

"Nothing like playing both sides, eh?" the first Ballala said. "You're just like the Golems on the other side of the valley! Why don't you Golems come out and show yourselves, too? Or will you all just run away like the cowards you are?" It spat sticky goo at Monica. The goo hit the tip of Monica's foot. She stopped abruptly. She grabbed her ankle and pulled as hard as she could. Her foot came out of the sticky goo. She turned her head and looked the Ballala in the eye. She spat sticky goo. The goo hit the Ballala's foot, but it was unharmed and didn't slow down.

"You're just a Himarra! What do you think you can do to us?"

Max turned around and aimed at the Ballala with his Jurak Gun. He shot. The Ballala was hit in the torso. It flinched, as it was slightly hurt by the beam.

"Still not good enough!" the Ballala said as the other Ballalas snickered.

Gokuu pulled out his Nyoi-bo. He pointed it at the Ballala and said, "Bo, extend!" The Nyoi-bo extended through the Ballala's eye. The Ballala froze. Gokuu pulled his Nyoi-bo out of the Ballala, the end of it dripping green blood. The Ballala's eye was closed.

Another Ballala opened the pained Ballala's eye and then closed it immediately. During that brief moment, Gokuu saw that the Ballala's eye was punctured.

"Whoops, I didn't mean to do that," Gokuu said.

Monica transformed into a human. Max looked at her with his mouth agape.

"Don't worry!" Monica said. "I know I can't change into a Himarra anymore now that they all know who I am, but I can find another monster to change into another time! My monster form's too weak to fight them!" She withdrew her Shamshir.

"Now it all makes sense," a Ballala said. "How dare you trick us?"

The Ballalas picked up their pace. The trio stopped and looked at them. They were all too far away to climb to the surface of the canyon wall or down to the ground without getting caught. That only left them with fighting on the wall.

Monica charged her Crystal Brassard fully. She let the fireball that was created loose. The fireball homed in on the blind Ballala. Another Ballala jumped in front of the blind one, taking the hit in the head. Most of the fire dissipated, but a small flame remained on the Ballala's head. The flame quickly spread until it enveloped the majority of the Ballala's body. The blind Ballala was close enough to also catch on fire.

"Keep away from us!" the Ballala that had first caught on fire said. "Just make sure those humans die!"

Max jumped down the canyon wall. He grabbed a protruding rock near a Ballala. He smashed the Ballala's head with his hammer. The Ballala's neck snapped in half under the pressure, and it fell down, disintegrating. Other Ballalas came to him, and he began hitting them rapidly with his hammer. Many Ballalas fell down the canyon, hitting a few of their comrades, bringing some down with them, and disintegrating.

Gokuu jumped down, punching and kicking Ballalas during his fall. All of them disintegrated upon contact. He grabbed a rock towards the bottom of the canyon and then jumped back up, using rocks to keep launching himself, punching and kicking the Ballalas again.

The Golems climbed over the wall.

"We heard what you all said about us," a Golem said. "Actually, the whole canyon heard it! We don't like being talked about behind our backs! If you wanna confirm something involving us, you talk to us, not other monsters!"

They launched themselves at the Ballalas like rockets. They hit the Ballalas, and they tumbled down the wall.

"You may be bigger than us," a Ballala that had gotten tackled said, "but you're not stronger than us! The monsters on this side of the canyon are a lot stronger than the ones on your side! I dare say…we're even stronger than the Dragons!"

The Dragons flew over the canyon wall. One Dragon flew towards the Ballala that had made the comment. The Golem, seeing this, let go of the Ballala and jumped to the far right, out of the Dragon's way. The Dragon pinned the Ballala to the wall by the hands. It then hit the Ballala in the torso with its tail, creating a crater in the wall. The Dragon hit it repeatedly until it disintegrated.

Max, who had just defeated a Ballala by smashing its head with his hammer, looked at the scene around him. The Dragons were beating the Ballalas senseless, hitting them primarily with their tails and sometimes breathing fire on them. Part of the wall was covered in flames. Everyone stayed away from the Ballalas that were already on fire, as those Ballalas couldn't save themselves, and if they dove into the water, they would most likely drown. Monica kept using her magic to defeat the Ballalas while Gokuu kept jumping up and down the wall using his fists and feet to kill the Ballalas. Ballalas disintegrated rapidly until they were all gone.

A Dragon pointed at the ground. The Golems and the other Dragons nodded. When the trio saw this, they also nodded and followed the monsters to the ground.

The monsters stood in a circle, the trio in the middle. Monica transformed into a Himarra to understand what the monsters were saying.

"You were a human all along," a Dragon said.

"Yes," Monica said, remembering what Gokuu had said about the hierarchy.

"Contrary to the Ballala's beliefs," the Dragon said, "the Dragons are really the strongest monsters in the canyon, including this side of the canyon. We do most of our training on this side. The monsters on this side are stronger than all the monsters on the other side." It looked at the Golems. "Remember that."

"We're sorry," the Golems said. "We just don't like it when monsters talk behind our backs."

"We understand," the Dragon said. "Neither do we. That is why, when we heard that Ballala saying that it was stronger than us, we had to set the record straight. The Ballalas were causing trouble, anyhow, spreading gossip to all the monsters but us. We should be informed of anything that is happening first, not anyone else. As for you humans"—it looked at the trio—"we do not approve of monsters and humans interacting with each other because of the problems it causes, this being one of the many problems. We will have to ask you all to leave. Now. Never show your face around here again. Tell your other human friends to never set foot here, either. Do you understand?"

"But the world will be destroyed if we don't go through this canyon!" Monica said.

The Dragon narrowed its eyes. "Prove it."

"If you go just outside this canyon, you'll see that all the plateaus are empty! It used to be human territory, but a divine being named Griffon destroyed it all! If the past is destroyed, there won't be a future!"

"But you said this Griffon only destroyed human territories, correct? In that case, the monsters do not need to worry. Humans cause too many problems for the monsters, and the monsters are generally very peaceful and, when we do fight, make sure not to get innocent monsters involved in it, unlike you humans. Some of us have flown all over the world and have seen the human wars that have taken place and the innocent human children who were killed during those wars."

"…Griffon's controlling you, isn't he?"

"No one is controlling us. We are too strong to be controlled."

"That's what you think. I bet you don't even realize you're being controlled."

_I'm not controlling them._ The childlike voice had entered her thoughts. _This is all genuine._

"The Dragons never lie," the Dragon said. "Don't you dare accuse us of doing so."

Gokuu looked at the Golems. "Why don't you all say something?"

The Golems averted their eyes. Some of them shook their head.

"Unlike you, they respect us since we are the strongest," the Dragon said. "You humans are disrespectful, but that is of no surprise."

"But you have it all wrong!" Monica said. "The monsters cause the trouble! You all have humans in such a bad stereotype that the trouble comes to us!"

"If that is true, then we shall give you one chance to prove that to us," the Dragon said. "We shall inform all the monsters that you are a peaceful race and, the next time you walk through the canyon, none of them shall attack you. Unlike before, you will be under our scrutiny. Understood?"

"Yes," Monica said while Gokuu said, "Yup!" Max stared at the Dragons.

"I see the other human is not able to understand what is happening. Inform him of what is happening."

Monica explained everything they talked about. Once she finished, Max agreed to the challenge.

"Good," the Dragon said. "Continue through this area, and we shall see if humans are really a peaceful race."

The Dragons flew over the valley and off into the distance.

The Golems quietly began climbing the canyon wall where the battle had taken place.

"Why didn't you guys say anything?" Gokuu said.

The Golems were silent as they leapt over the wall.

Monica transformed into a human. "I guess they don't want to get on the Dragons' bad side. I don't blame them, either, after seeing how brutal they can be. But I'm glad we finally get a chance to walk through the canyon without being attacked." She sheathed her Shamshir at her hip. "We have to make the best of this chance. It could make the rest of our trek through this canyon a lot easier."

Max put his Cubic Hammer and his Jurak Gun in his bag, and Gokuu sheathed his Nyoi-bo on his back. The trio began climbing up the wall to the other side.


	25. Proving It

**Chapter Twenty-five: Proving It**

This was a chance that couldn't be wasted. This was their one chance to prove that they were the victims.

As promised, the monsters didn't attack them. They twisted their faces, making goofy facial expressions at the trio. The trio ignored them.

The monsters cursed the trio. The trio ignored them.

It was a leisurely walk in the canyon. The sun shined brighter than Max had ever seen. The river below was calm.

The trio arrived at the end of the floor. The condor awaited them atop its perch.

"Uh-oh," Monica said. "Since we didn't kill any monsters, we didn't get the Giant Meat."

"Mr. Condor, can you take us to the next floor without us giving you the Giant Meat?" Gokuu said. "Just this once?"

"Yes, please." Monica clapped her hands together and held her head down as though she were praying. "The Dragons gave us a chance to prove that the monsters are the ones attacking us, not the other way around. If we don't fight now, we'll have a nice, fighting-free walk through the rest of this canyon."

The condor closed its eyes and shook its head. It flew away. A few moments later, it came back with part of its nest enclosed in its beak. Three chicks inside laid, breathing heavily, on the side of the nest, one with half of its body hanging out. Their bones were visible.

"They're starving?" Max said.

The condor nodded.

Monica turned to Max and Gokuu. "We have to get that Giant Meat. We'll just have to go to the monster that has the Giant Meat and ask it to give it to us." She looked at the condor. "Before we go, I have a quick question. Do the monsters take your Giant Meat?"

The condor looked at the ground and nodded.

"Do they always take the Giant Meat that we give you?"

The condor nodded. Tears welled up in its eyes.

Monica balled her hands. "So, they pick on animals, too? I bet they kill all the animals in the territories they take over. They say humans are selfish, but have they ever looked in a mirror?"

"I'm pretty sure the Dragons know," Max said. "Let's talk to them after we get this Giant Meat."

The trio turned and ran away from the condor. The condor began to cry, its tears filled with gratefulness.

The trio approached a Nikapous. Monica changed into a Himarra.

"You can't fool me," the Nikapous said.

"I know I can't," Monica said. "The monsters all know that I'm a human. Do you have Giant Meat?"

"No. I don't need it."

"Do you know any monsters that might have it?"

"The King Mimic likes it. It says the Meat keeps it big and strong. But I doubt you could negotiate with it since you're humans. I could persuade it for you, but I need help first."

"This is your way of asking for help?" Monica said. "Sure, why not?"

"I used to be a strong monster. I could fight evenly with the Golems and Elfas. But, one day, when the treasure chests appeared, I opened one. They were not placed here until you humans started to walk through this canyon. The Dragons told us not to open them, and for good reason: a Dragon opened a chest once and couldn't fly again. I didn't get the message until after I opened the chest. A colorful human emerged from the chest with two boxes floating around it. It raised one brow and said, 'These aren't for you' and pointed at me. A green beam came out of its finger. Thus, I was cursed with wearing this mask. I can't take it off, and I can't fight evenly with the Golems anymore. This mask slows me down too much, and when I try to defend myself, I get hit across the canyon anyway. Many of the monsters won't fight with me now because this huge mask makes me look so intimidating. If you could find a way to get it off, I would be deeply appreciative."

Monica looked in her pouch. "We're all out of Holy Water. Are there any other holy-type monsters that could purify you?"

"Every week, the Rama Priests try to make us congregate to worship gods. They say that's the gods' will. Most of the monsters refuse to do it because they don't see the benefit."

"I get it!" Gokuu said. "They might be able to get that mask off you!"

"Where can we find them?" Monica said.

"At least two should be coming around this territory to try and get us to congregate," the Nikapous said. "Tell them that a Nikapous needs them.

"Okay, let's go find them!" Monica said.

The trio began to run away. The Nikapous said, "It'd be helpful if you could somehow get them to stop trying to get us to congregate! Every week, they get more aggressive, and it's getting real annoying!"

The trio saw a Rama Priest that had climbed into a Yo-yo Barrel. The Duke Balloon inside was pressed against the back of the Barrel, and the Rama Priest leaned closer to the Duke Balloon's face every sentence it spoke.

"But you must worship the gods!" the Rama Priest said. "That is the gods' will!"

"No!" the Duke Balloon said. "Will you leave me alone, you uneducated bird? You've been bothering me for the past half an hour!"

The Rama Priest jumped down. "The gods' will is more powerful than yours. You will succumb to your fate." It turned around to walk away and saw the trio. It stopped, and its eyes widened. "Humans!"

The trio walked up to it. The Rama Priest stayed in place.

"Can you purify a Nikapous so that its mask comes off?" Monica said.

"That Nikapous accepted help from humans?" the Rama Priest said.

"Can we get past the whole human-monster thing? We'll do anything to get you to purify it."

The Rama Priest turned to the Yo-yo Barrel a few feet away. "Only if you help me get the monsters in this territory together to worship the gods."

"Will you stop trying to push your gods onto us?" the Duke Balloon said. "You all are so aggressive. You ponder why other monsters dislike you!"

"I have a feeling that won't happen," Monica said.

"In that case, I'm afraid I can't purify it." The Rama Priest walked around the trio and away from them.

"If they give you some cheese, will you help them?" the Duke Balloon said.

The Rama Priest stopped. It slowly turned around. "Cheese?"

"Yes, cheese! You haven't had cheese in quite some time, have you?"

The Rama Priest slowly moved its tongue over its upper lip.

Monica looked in her pouch. "We don't have any cheese."

"Neither do I," the Duke Balloon said.

"If we get the cheese for you, will you help us?" Gokuu said.

The Rama Priest nodded.

"The King Mimics like to hoard food," the Duke Balloon said.

"King Mimics again, huh?" Monica said.

"If they get you this cheese," the Duke Balloon said, "will you and the other Rama Priests stop trying to get the monsters to worship your gods every week?"

The Rama Priest nodded.

"That's the best news I've heard all day," the Duke Balloon said. "The King Mimics are tough to get along with. They're a little uneducated like the Rama Priests, so I shall assist you in this endeavor."

Once Monica had told Max what was happening, they proceeded through the floor, Max opening the chests. Max was about to open one chest when the chest opened on its own, grew in size, and opened an eye positioned in the middle of its head. The King Mimic was as tall as Max and Monica.

"You don't have to worry about me," the King Mimic said. "The Dragons told me to not attack humans. Unless you attack me first."

"This isn't about fighting," Monica said. "We'd like some of that cheese you keep in your chest."

"What for?"

"Haven't the Rama Priests been coming along every week to bother you about worshipping their gods?" the Duke Balloon said. "Isn't it annoying you?"

"When they come, I stay closed and sleep," the King Mimic said. "It's easy to tune them out."

Out of the corner of his eye, Max saw a Rama Priest approaching them. He tapped Monica on the shoulder and then pointed at the Rama Priest.

"That must be a different one than before," Monica said.

The Rama Priest walked to the King Mimic. The King Mimic closed.

"Open yourself!" the Rama Priest said, knocking on the King Mimic. "I must talk to you about accepting the gods into your life!"

The Duke Balloon jumped down from its Yo-yo Barrel and whispered, "Let's leave them be. I don't want to hear anything more about this ridiculousness."

Monica and Gokuu nodded. The Duke Balloon jumped into its Yo-yo Barrel.

As they walked away, Gokuu said, "Aren't the King Mimics stronger than the Rama Priests? Couldn't they beat the Rama Priests up to get them to stop?"

"They could, but they're not interested," the Duke Balloon said. "The Rama Priests haven't gotten on their nerves enough. Maybe today shall be the day. And, my, how entertaining that would be! Let us watch from over here."

They stopped, peeking from the corner of the canyon at the King Mimic and the Rama Priest.

"Stop being ignorant!" the Rama Priest said. The sounds from its knocking on the King Mimic echoed throughout the canyon.

The King Mimic remained closed.

The Rama Priest gripped the King Mimic's opening and flung it upwards.

"There!" the Rama Priest said. "Now you will listen to me!"

The King Mimic's head pointed towards the sky. It lowered its head so that it could look at the Rama Priest but didn't close.

"Please worship the gods with us," the Rama Priest said. "Your life will be changed for the better."

The King Mimic bit the Rama Priest's hand off. The Rama Priest hollered as the King Mimic chewed it and then spat it into the river. The Rama Priest's hollering stopped as the King Mimic bit off its lips. It spat them into the river. Then, it clapped its hands on the Rama Priest, smashing it. The Rama Priest disintegrated.

Max, Monica, Gokuu, and the Yo-yo Barrel ran to the King Mimic.

"You see what the other monsters are complaining about?" the Duke Balloon said.

"You betcha," the King Mimic said. "I'm surprised the Dragons haven't done anything to them yet."

"Will you give us the cheese now?" Monica said. "We really need it."

"For the other Rama Priest?" the King Mimic said. "Well, actually, I was just thinking I'd kill it, too."

"It and the other Rama Priests will leave all the monsters alone once we give it cheese," Monica said. "Wouldn't you rather have them _all_ leave you alone?"

The King Mimic stared at Monica for a moment. It reached into its mouth and pulled out cheese. Monica took it.

"Thank you so much!" Monica turned to Max and Gokuu. "Let's go give this to the Rama Priest."

They began running away, the Yo-yo Barrel following them. They came across the Rama Priest, standing in the same place it was when the Duke Balloon first asked if it wanted cheese.

Monica walked to the Rama Priest and held the cheese to its face. When the Rama Priest inhaled, it smelled the cheese. It perked up and took it.

"I must save this for when the time is right," the Rama Priest said. "When my craving is so strong that I cannot take it anymore. Thank you very much."

"No problem," Monica said. "Now, can you take that mask off the Nikapous?"

"Yes, I will," the Rama Priest said. "Please lead me to it."

They found the Nikapous towards the end of the floor with two Smiling Fairies and a Mimic around it. The Smiling Fairies rubbed against the Nikapous, batting their eyes, and the Mimic rubbed the Nikapous's chin.

"We've, uh, brought the Rama Priest," Monica said, looking from the Nikapous to a Smiling Fairy staring deep into the Nikapous's eyes.

"I don't need it anymore," the Nikapous said. "Do you see these wonderful ladies around me?"

"They sure don't look like girls," Monica said.

Gokuu looked at Monica. "You, too? I thought I was the only one who couldn't tell!"

"I never got any dates without the mask!" the Nikapous said, pulling the mask closer to its body. "I'll be keeping this on for a long time."

"You remember our deal, don't you?" Monica said. "As soon as you're done persuading the King Mimic to give us that Giant Meat, you can go back to your girlfriends."

"Oh, that's right." The Nikapous cracked its knuckles and grinned at the swooning monsters around it. "I'll show off a li'l somethin' somethin' to you all. This mask isn't just for show."

They ran to the King Mimic. It was closed, but its snoring was audible. The Nikapous kicked the King Mimic open.

"I thought you were going to negotiate with it!" Monica said.

"This is my way of negotiating," the Nikapous said.

"Ah, I get it. You're trying to show off. It's amazing what women can do to men."

The King Mimic slowly lowered its lid until it looked the Nikapous in the eye.

"I need some Giant Meat from you," the Nikapous said. "These humans want it."

"The same humans from before told you to attack me?" the King Mimic said.

"No, I attacked you on my own. I couldn't get the Giant Meat without fighting you for it."

"Actually, you could have. But now that you've pissed me off…" The King Mimic jumped toward the Nikapous. The Nikapous jumped backward as the Mimic, Smiling Fairies, Rama Priest, Yo-yo Barrel, Max, Monica, and Gokuu ran away from the area.

As the King Mimic jumped toward the Nikapous, it chomped repeatedly. The Nikapous put the two halves of its mask together and then opened them, letting loose a fireball. The fireball hit the King Mimic, and it reared back. The Nikapous got close to the King Mimic and kicked its lid, sending it back farther than before. The Nikapous reached inside the King Mimic and rummaged until it touched the Giant Meat. It took the Giant Meat out as the King Mimic chomped. The Nikapous tossed the Meat to Gokuu. Gokuu caught it.

"We don't need to watch this," Monica said as the King Mimic tried to lick the Nikapous, the Nikapous putting the two halves of its mask together to guard. "We got what we came for." She turned to the Yo-yo Barrel. "Thanks for all your help. We appreciate it."

"You're welcome," the Duke Balloon said. "I'm glad you were able to handle this maturely when the monsters couldn't."

The trio ran away from the fight and towards the condor's perch. When they arrived, the condor was sitting on its perch, its dying babies in the nest next to it.

"Here," Gokuu said, reaching towards the condor with the Giant Meat in his hand. The condor's eyes lit up, and it took the Giant Meat with its beak. It placed the Giant Meat into the nest. The chicks twitched and then sat up. They began tearing at the meat. They chewed and gulped quickly and then went back for more.

"We'll keep getting you Giant Meat," Monica said. "You don't have to worry about that."

The condor flew to Monica and nuzzled her stomach.

"Th-that tickles!" Monica said, laughing. "Hey!"

The condor nuzzled Gokuu. Gokuu was silent as it did so.

The condor nuzzled Max. Max rubbed the condor's head as it did so.

The Dragons flew down and landed in front of the trio. The condor, which was still nuzzling Max, saw them. Its eyes widened, and it returned to its perch, landing close to the nest with the chicks still eating the meat inside.

"We did what you asked us to do," Monica said. "It looks like we'll have to ask the monsters for Giant Meat on every floor, though."

"Yes, you did what we asked you to do," the Dragon said. "But you still caused problems to get your Giant Meat."

"We can't control what the monsters do. But you can. If you tell them not to fight to help us get the Giant Meat, they'll stop."

"My point still stands. Humans are a warlike race."

"Monsters are, too."

The trio and the Dragons looked each other in the eyes for a few moments.

"I don't know if you've realized it, but you monsters are the ones who caused this problem," Monica said. "We wouldn't have had to get the Giant Meat if the monsters didn't take it away from the condor every time we gave it to him. You're the ones who killed all the animals that used to live here just to take over this canyon. That condor and its chicks are the only surviving animals, and the monsters are trying to kill it, even though it's not even bothering them. Do you know how sad that condor's feeling?"

More moments of staring and silence passed.

"Everything will be back to normal tomorrow," the Dragon said. "Monsters will be free to attack you." The Dragons turned to the side and flew away.

Monica clenched her hands. "Damn. Even after all that…" She sighed and transformed into a human. She told Max what had happened. She finished, "It doesn't make any sense."

The trio climbed the condor, Max in front, Monica behind him, and Gokuu behind her. The condor, with its nest in its beak, began to fly towards the canyon entrance.

"I think the Dragons are afraid of being wrong," Max said. "Maybe that's why they didn't have any comeback to your 'monsters are warlike' and 'you can stop the monsters from attacking each other.'"

"I think so, too," Monica said. "But their heads are stuck so far up there that they refuse to listen to anyone else."

The trio was quiet for the rest of the ride back to Balance Valley.


	26. Tasking

**Chapter Twenty-six: Tasking**

Max, Monica, and Gokuu stood on the edge of the plateau closest to Starlight Canyon's entrance, facing the four empty plateaus.

"We haven't even started yet," Monica said.

"I'm sure we can finish it quickly if we start now." Max called the Carpenterion. It flew over the canyon and hovered above the trio. The bottom of it opened, and the platform descended to the ground, the ground trembling upon contact. The trio stepped on the platform, and they entered.

Gokuu took out the Geostones they had collected. One at a time, he threw them in the reactor, information appearing on the screen as he did so. Gokuu threw the last Geostone in, and the information stopped appearing.

Monica placed her hands on the dashboard that was designed for Firbits to use, causing her to lean as she looked up at the screen. "For the lower prayer site to be restored, we need all four plateaus at same height." She looked outside. "That's not a problem right now. To restore the suspension bridge, there need to be fifteen trees placed. We'll have to divide them evenly to keep the plateaus at the same height. If the plateaus aren't at an equal height, nothing will be restored, so we have to be careful."

In the corner of the screen were four blue squares in a row, each numbered one, two, three, or four. They were at an equal height. Monica pointed to them, saying, "I guess those represent the plateaus' height."

"Guess we'd better get started," Max said. "If you don't mind, Monica, can I control the Carpenterion?"

"Sure," Monica said, backing away from the dashboard. "You know I'm not into machines like you are."

Max created fifteen thorn trees from the supplies they had obtained in Starlight Canyon. He placed one tree on one plateau before moving to the next one, which kept the plateaus at an equal height. Once he had placed all fifteen thorn trees on the plateaus, he made a Chinese stand and let Ferdinand manage it. Next, they moved Corinne into a pink brick house at her request, placed a chimney on its roof, and added a mailbox and pot torch within five feet of it, the mailbox on the right side of the front door, the pot torch on the other.

"Okay," Max said, standing up. He read the information on the screen. "We need Priest Bruno, Sheriff Blinkhorn, Stewart, and Parn. I'll go get them."

"Wait, Max," Monica said. "That's a lot of people, and something tells me it might take a while to recruit them all. Gokuu and I will go with you."

They left the Carpenterion. Max and Monica rode the train while Gokuu ran. They arrived in the station at the same time, Gokuu skidding to a stop on the platform while the train slowed to a stop.

"I'll go recruit Sheriff Blinkhorn and Stewart," Max said after he and Monica had left the train. "It wouldn't be good if my father somehow found out about me talking to Priest Bruno."

"Then I'll get Priest Bruno," Monica said. "That leaves you with Parn, Gokuu."

"Priest Bruno should be in the church," Max said. "I don't remember him ever living in a house. Parn should be in the house closest to the river. He lives in a studio, so if his house has a lot of paintings in it, you're in the right place."

"'Kay, I got it," Gokuu said.

They left the station and went their separate ways.

* * *

Max ran to the police station. Sheriff Blinkhorn stood outside tapping his foot, his hands clasped behind his back. He watched Max run to him.

"Sheriff Blinkhorn, we need your help," Max said. "We need you to come with us to the outside world. Have you heard about Griffon?"

"There's not a soul in this town that hasn't," Sheriff Blinkhorn said, "especially after that mishap you had with Milane and the rest of them going missing."

"We need you to help restore the world."

"Can you show me how fast you are first?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you saved all those people from the monsters and that you beat that robot all by yourself, but I haven't seen how fast you are. Brute power means nothing if you don't have the speed to back it up. I've run from this station to Fabio's boat at the pier in two minutes and one second. If you can beat my time, I'll come along with you."

"Okay, no problem." Max turned around, his back to Sheriff Blinkhorn.

"On your mark, get set… Go!"

Max began to run, dodging citizens along the way. He saw Gokuu running out of Parn's house in front of him, blocking his way.

"Gokuu, watch out!" Max said.

Gokuu jumped high into the air, and Max ran under him.

"Thanks," Max said without looking at Gokuu.

A school of fish covered the drawbridge, some flopping into the air. Citizens stood on both sides of the drawbridge, staring at the fish. Patrolmen Addis and Puno stood in front of the citizens on the other side.

"Don't worry, everyone," Patrolman Addis said. "We're going to clear them out now."

_I can't slow down, _Max thought.

Citizens watched as Max jumped over them and the drawbridge. Max turned and ran up the hill leading to the park. A blue ball bounced down the hill, going in every direction. Max jumped over the ball. He landed on his right foot, but his left foot stepped on the ball, and Max began to stumble.

Drini ran past him in the opposite direction. "Sorry, Max."

Max continued to stumble up the hill. Once he got to the top, he fell, his cap rolling off. He scrambled onto his feet and ran through the nearly desolate park to the pier. He ran to the end of it.

_Okay. Now to get back to Sheriff Blinkhorn. _He turned and ran off the pier. He arrived at the drawbridge without tripping, falling, or dodging. The school of fish and group of citizens were gone.

Max was running across the drawbridge when he saw Monica walking across, two citizens walking on both sides of her. She stopped and turned around, as did the citizens.

"Max, I recru—Wait, why are you in such a rush?"

"Watch out, Monica!"

Monica looked at the two citizens on both sides of her. There was no way for Max to pass them, and he was too close to Monica to jump without hurting her.

Their heads hit each other, and then they fell on the ground, Max lying on top.

"Sorry, Monica," he said, rolling off her and running away, Monica still on her back. "I'll explain later." He swerved as he ran, his head pounding.

"Max, are you okay?" a female citizen carrying a parasol said as he ran past her.

"If this is because my ball made you trip, I'm sorry," Drini said as Max ran past him.

"Dang, Max," Donny said as Max ran past him. "You drunk or somethin'?"

Sheriff Blinkhorn came into sight. He was looking at his stopwatch.

_I hope I can still make it, _Max thought. He ran past Sheriff Blinkhorn, stopping himself by stretching his arms and slamming his palms against the police station's door. He looked at Sheriff Blinkhorn, panting.

Sheriff Blinkhorn stared at his stopwatch. He lowered his hand and looked at Max.

"Two minutes," Sheriff Blinkhorn said.

Max's face sunk. He held his head down.

"Why are you looking like that? I mean two minutes on the nose."

A grin spread across Max's face. "Alright!" He squatted and then stood up, raising a fist into the air. "You'll come with us now?"

"Like I promised. Good job." Sheriff Blinkhorn lay a hand on Max's shoulder. He began walking toward the train station. Max didn't hear Sheriff Blinkhorn say, "What a clumsy kid. He wouldn't have made it if I didn't take a few seconds off his time because of all that falling he did."

* * *

Gokuu entered Parn's house. Parn, who was staring at a painting of a woman on the wall, turned his head to look at him.

"You're that boy who hangs out with Max and Monica now," Parn said.

"Uh-huh. I'm Son Gokuu. You gotta come with us to fix the outside world."

Parn looked at the painting on the wall. "I'm sorry, but this has been on my mind for a while. You see this woman on the wall?"

"Yep," Gokuu said, nodding. "What about her?"

"Her name is Julia. I've fallen in love with her, and she's become my fiancée." Parn stared at Gokuu for a few seconds. Gokuu stared at Parn. "You're not laughing?"

"Why would I be laughing?"

Parn blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Every single person I've told about Julia laughed. They think it's absurd that I've fallen in love with one of my paintings. But I heard about something called golden paint that can bring any painting to life. If I can get a hold of that paint, I can bring Julia to life and marry her."

"Why can't you get it?"

"It can only be found in a nest containing golden eggs, and I haven't been able to find any of those anywhere. I've traveled the world searching for it—before the mayor closed Palm Brinks' gates, of course."

"So you want me to get it?"

"Yes. I'd forever be in your debt."

Gokuu began rubbing his chin. "Hmm… You said it's not around here anywhere in the world, so I guess it's in the future. And in a nest. A nest is in a tree. Sindain has lots of trees. Okay, I know where to go. I'll get Max and Monica and then go to the future. Be right back."

Gokuu ran out the door, a cloud of dust following him, coating some of the paintings in Parn's studio.

"Those are the ones that need to dry," Parn said as the front door closed.

Gokuu was about to pivot toward the church when he saw Max running toward him.

"Gokuu, watch out!" Max said.

_He's too close to me to jump sideways, so I'll just jump up. _Gokuu jumped as high as he could, allowing Max to run under him. Citizens wowed and clapped as Gokuu landed on the ground.

"Thanks," Max said without looking at Gokuu.

"Hey, I need you to come to Sindain so I can go to the future," Gokuu said, but Max jumped over the drawbridge and the crowds of people surrounding it and then ran up the hill.

Gokuu crossed his arms. "I can't go to the future without 'em."

A red light emanated from his chest. The light disappeared, and a blue light replaced it. The blue light disappeared, and the red light replaced it.

"What's goin' on?" Gokuu waved his hand through the alternating lights.

A childlike voice entered his thoughts, echoing. _It appears as though the Atlamillias are lending you their power while the other two are busy._

"Who's there?" Gokuu said, looking around. Citizens stared at him, some continuing to walk past, others stopping and asking Gokuu who he was talking to. Gokuu was too focused on the voice to answer.

_It's me, Griffon._

"You're the bad guy," Gokuu said. "You're doing to me what you did to Max."

_That's right. You can go to Sindain and go to the future and come back._

"Really?"

_Yeah._

Gokuu began running toward the gates, citizens watching him. "How come you decided to help me?"

_To save time. I wouldn't want you standing around idly._

Gokuu left Palm Brinks. Everything around him became a green blur as he ran. "This doesn't change the fact that Max, Monica, and I are gonna beat you up when we find you."

_I realize that. You're easier to persuade than those other two._

"I don't understand what you mean."

_You don't need to._

After a few moments of silence, Gokuu said, "Hey, are you still there?"

No response.

Gokuu arrived in Sindain. He ran into the center of the time gate. His chest began glowing red. White encompassed his view, and he closed his eyes. The white faded, and when he opened his eyes, he was in Jurak Mall.

"Gokuu," Jurak said. "How did you get here?"

"I dunno," Gokuu said, stepping before Jurak. "Something about Max and Monica's Atlamillias lending me their power."

"I see. Very strange indeed."

"Griffon talked to me today. It was like he was in my brain. He told me about the Atlamillias lending me their power."

Firbits close enough to Gokuu and Jurak to hear their conversation stopped walking and stared at the two, their eyes wide and mouths agape.

"I wonder why he would decide to help you," Jurak said.

"I asked him that. He said it was to save time."

Jurak blinked slowly. "This is a guess, but it seems as though Griffon has taken a liking to the three of you."

"Why? We're gonna beat him up soon."

"I don't know. Maybe the reason will be revealed when you see him in person."

"Anyway, I came here 'cause Parn needs some golden paint, and I can find that in a nest full of golden eggs. Do you know where I can find a nest like that?"

"It's in the branch above you."

Gokuu looked up and saw the blue sky.

"It's behind you."

Gokuu turned around, continuing to look up. The nest containing the golden eggs lay on a branch.

"There they are. Thanks." Gokuu jumped in front of the nest. "How am I supposed to get paint from eggs?" He lifted one egg out of the nest. A golden paint bucket lay in the spot the golden egg was.

"I wonder how that happened," Gokuu said, taking the paint. "Better get back to Parn." He jumped down the branch and ran into the middle of the time gate. His chest began to glow blue. Everything around Gokuu became white, causing him to close his eyes. A few moments later, he opened his eyes, and he was in the past.

He ran back to Palm Brinks and entered Parn's house.

"I'm back," Gokuu said. "I got the paint."

Parn turned around. His eyes lit up upon seeing the paint. He half-ran, half-walked to Gokuu and took the paint. He took a paintbrush that was lying under Julia's painting. Parn opened the paint bucket and then dipped the paintbrush into the paint. He withdrew the paintbrush and began to paint Julia. A golden light filled the studio, and Gokuu closed his eyes. Once it had disappeared, he opened them. A woman stood in front of Parn, and the painting of her was gone.

Parn took Julia's hands in his. He kissed her. Their eyes closed. His head moved back and forth as they kissed. After three minutes of them kissing, Gokuu said, "Aren't you gonna come with us?"

Parn and Julia slowly released their lips from each other.

"Yes, of course," Parn said. "Julia, this is Gokuu. He brought the paint that brought you to life."

Julia walked to Gokuu. "Thank you very much. I'm very appreciative."

"As am I," Parn said, stepping beside Julia. "We can finally live the rest of our lives together, what we've craved since I first…painted her. She's a perfect girl, my dream girl."

"What did you mean when you asked if we were going to come with you?" Julia said.

"To Balance Valley," Gokuu said. "We only needed Parn, but you coming wouldn't hurt the future, I think."

"I don't see any way it could," Parn said.

"I don't understand," Julia said.

"I'll explain on our way to the train."

Parn and Julia left the studio, holding hands.

* * *

Monica stopped behind the crowd of people at the drawbridge. She stood on her toes and saw fish lying on it.

"How'd this happen?" Monica said.

A young man next to her said, "This happens every once in a while. A school of fish jumps out of the water and lay on the bridge. None of us know why. Even Fabio and Olivie don't know."

"I need to get past now. The less time wasted, the better." Monica backed up a few feet. Then, she ran toward the drawbridge. When she was a few steps away from the crowd, she jumped over the bridge and the citizens, whose heads moved as they watched her jump. She ran up the stairs leading to the church.

The church doors creaked as Monica opened them. She looked around as she walked in.

"Hello," Priest Bruno said, walking to her. "Welcome to the church of the gods."

"Hi," Monica said. "We need you to restore the future."

"I see. You've proven you can fight, based on your rescuing of Polly and the others, and I thank you for that, but I'd like you to prove your intelligence."

Monica lifted her hand to place it on her forehead but stopped herself.

"We have a problem in this church concerning the candles. We'd like to put them all out when we close the church for the night, but they have a special mechanism that makes it so if you blow out one, two others are also put out. And if you put out another, one that you just put out may come back on. We'd rather not keep leaving them on all night since we never know if a fire may start. I promise I will come with you if you can put all the candles out."

"Alright, I'll try," Monica said. She walked to the closest candle on the right. "I guess I should start here." She blew the candle out. The candle next to that candle and the candle directly across went out as well.

_Is that the pattern? _she thought. She walked to the candle diagonal from the candle she had blown out manually and blew it out. The candle beside that candle and the one across from it were also extinguished.

Monica smiled. _Got it. _She put the rest of the candles out without any problems. When she finished, Priest Bruno clapped, as did the citizens sitting on the pews.

"Bravo," Priest Bruno said. "You got it on your first try. That's something I would expect from Max." He paused. "No offense to you, of course. One more thing." He entered a room in the side of the church and then came out with a paper and pen in hand. "Could you write down that pattern so others will be able to put out the candles?"

"Sure," Monica said, taking the paper and pen. She sat sideways on the right front pew, facing the paper laying flat beside her, and wrote down the pattern. Once she finished, she returned the paper and pen to Priest Bruno.

"Thank you," Priest Bruno said, looking at the paper for a few seconds. "As promised, I will accompany you. I need to get the church ready for my departure, though, so it'll be a few hours until I board the train. It won't inconvenience you, will it?"

"Not at all," Monica said. "Max and Gokuu are probably taking a while recruiting others anyway."

Monica left the church and began walking across the drawbridge. Two citizens walked on each side of her.

"Hi, Monica," one of them said.

"How are you?" the other said.

"I'm good, thanks," Monica said.

Monica heard running footsteps and turned around. The citizens also turned around. Max was charging toward them.

"Max, I recru—Wait, why are you in such a rush?"

"Watch out, Monica!" Max said.

Monica looked at the citizens on both sides of her. She couldn't dodge without hurting one of them. She stared at Max, who was now a few inches away. He collided with her headfirst, and they fell on the ground.

_So heavy, _Monica thought. The world spun around her.

Max rolled off her and ran away. "Sorry, Monica. I'll explain later."

Monica stumbled upon standing up. She placed her hand on her throbbing forehead. "Ow, ow, ow. I should've known that if the candles didn't give me a headache today, something would."

"Are you okay?" one citizen said.

"Yes, don't worry." _Well, my head hurts right now, but this is nothing compared to what the monsters do to me. _"Thanks for the concern. I'll be going now."

As Monica walked past Parn's house, Gokuu came out. She saw Parn and a blonde woman holding hands, turning onto the road leading to the train station. Monica stopped, letting Gokuu catch up to her.

"Are you finished?" Monica said.

"Yup," Gokuu said. "You?"

"Yeah. Let's go get Max."

They began running to the police station. As it came into view, Monica saw Sheriff Blinkhorn walking toward the train station, Max watching him. Max turned around and was about to run when he saw Monica and Gokuu and stopped.

"Monica, I'm really sorry about before," Max said after Monica and Gokuu reached him. "I didn't mean to run into you. I had to get the police station in a certain amount of time to recruit Sheriff Blinkhorn, and I'd already gotten tripped—"

"Don't worry about it, Max. I didn't get hurt. As long as you didn't hurt yourself while you were running." She studied Max's face: It was red. Sweat rolled down from his forehead and dripped off his chin. He wasn't wearing his cap, and his hair was damp.

"Just a few scratches here and there, but nothing I can't handle," Max said. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No. Don't worry yourself sick over it. Did you get Stewart?"

"I was just on my way. Maybe we can all recruit him together since you two are finished."

The trio began walking to Max's house.

"Guys, Griffon talked to me today," Gokuu said.

Max and Monica looked at Gokuu, their eyes wide, Monica's mouth hanging open.

Gokuu explained what he had to do in order to get Parn to travel to the outside world; the alternating red and blue lights on his chest that allowed him to go to the future and then return to the past; his conversations with Griffon and Jurak; and Julia's birth.

"Jurak just might be right," Monica said, putting a hand on her chin and averting her eyes. "Griffon may be taking a liking to us. But why?"

"I have a feeling that everything'll become clear when we meet him face-to-face," Max said, "without his mind control."

They entered Max's house. Stewart, holding Max's hunting cap, stood in front of the door.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Maximilian, Mr. Gokuu, Miss Monica," Stewart said, bowing. He gave Max his hunting cap. "Drini gave this to me to return to you. He asked me to apologize to you for the ball incident. He didn't explain to me what that particular incident was."

"That's alright. I know what he's talking about," Max said, putting his cap on.

"Is there anything you would like me to get you?"

"Yes, actually," Max said. "Can you come to the outside world with us?"

"To live?"

"Yeah. My father's already on the train."

"That means that it might be okay if I leave and stop working in this mansion. I apologize, Mr. Maximilian, but I've heard you've been asking people to come with you, and you've been fulfilling their requests as thanks."

"You have something you need us to do? That's no problem."

"When I'm not working, I enjoy reading books. There's one particular book I would like that will be at an upcoming auction, but I haven't enough Gilda saved to buy it."

Max looked at Monica and Gokuu. Monica smiled and nodded while Gokuu blinked.

"I know it sounds kinda crazy," Max said, "but the monsters drop Gilda when we defeat them. We haven't spent any Gilda in a long time, so we can give you however much you need."

Stewart bowed. "Thank you very much. I appreciate you graciousness, young sir. The bid shouldn't go any higher than 2,000 Gilda."

Max reached into his pouch and counted the amount of Gilda he had. He put some back in the pouch and gave the amount remaining to Stewart.

"Once again, thank you very much. I'll be back soon, hopefully with that book." Stewart left the house.

Less than an hour later, Stewart came in, a smile on his face, a thick book in hand. Max, Monica, and Gokuu, who were sitting on the side of the fountain waiting for him, stood up and walked to him.

_That book has got to be at least 1,000 pages, _Monica thought.

"I got it!" Stewart said. He smiled more, showing his white teeth. "I've wanted this book for a very long time, and I've been a bit afraid to ask your father for the money, as I was afraid he'd fire me for asking for such a high amount. Everyone dropped out after my 1,600 Gilda bid, so I can return the remainder." Stewart gave Max 400 Gilda. "I'll continue working here until I've paid the rest of my debt to you."

"Don't worry about paying anything back," Max said. "We can easily get plenty of Gilda by defeating monsters."

"Thank you, young sir. Now I'll have something to do during my time in the outside world when I'm too tired to explore. Thank you very much, Mr. Maximilian, Mr. Gokuu, Miss Monica. I'll be in the train." Stewart left the house.

"That ends that," Monica said. "Now we can move everyone into their houses, and we can finally take the first step to reviving Crest."

Upon arriving at Balance Valley, they built three brick houses and a church. They painted one house purple, placed a star lamp on its side wall, and moved Parn and Julia into it. They built an iron fence around another house and placed an iron gate at the entrance. Sheriff Blinkhorn moved into that house. Stewart moved into another brick house, and Priest Bruno moved into the church. They placed a pot torch on the three plateaus that didn't have one.

"That should do it," Max said, taking his hands off the Carpenterion's control levers. He looked at the squares in the corner of the screen. They were blue and at an equal height. "Yep, we're good. Let's see if the future changed."

The trio left the Carpenterion and ran toward the time gate, Max ahead of Monica and Gokuu.


	27. Challenge

**Chapter Twenty-seven: Challenge**

Max stood in the center of the time gate while Monica and Gokuu stood just outside of it. He spread his arms away from his body, and his Atlamillia shone red. White encompassed the trio's views, and they closed their eyes.

When the white disappeared, they opened them. They had arrived at a large temple with bridges connecting five plateaus, including the one on which they were standing. Buildings were on every plateau except the middle one. The plateau to the right had Lao Chao's bistro on it.

"I can smell food from here," Gokuu said. "I'm hungry. Can we eat?"

"We'd better get Lin better first," Monica said. "Afterwards, okay?"

The trio ran across the bridges into the bistro. Max saw people, who resembled the citizens of Palm Brinks, sitting on stools, eating.

_Looks like people don't change much over 100 years, _Max thought.

A man stood behind the bar, his back to the trio. His hands moved swiftly as he cooked on a stove, grabbing ingredients and putting them into different pans.

"I think that's him," Monica said. They walked to the bar.

The man stopped cooking and turned around. "Welcome. What can I get you?"

"Actually, we didn't come to eat today," Monica said. "We have a friend who's very ill, and she needs your miracle dish." She clasped her hands and held her head down as though she were praying. "Could you make it for us, please?"

"I wish I could help you, but I need a special ingredient to make the dish: the White Windflower. People say it's extinct now. It used to be available in deep valleys."

"Maybe we can find it in Starlight Canyon in the past," Max said.

"The past?" Lao Chao said. "Ah, I've heard about you three from the Firbits in Jurak Mall. You're the ones who time travel and restore the future. I thank you, and if you ever do want to eat here, you can, free of charge."

"Hey, thanks," Gokuu said. "We'll take you up on that offer when we get time."

"Alright, let's head back to the past," Monica said. "Thank you, Lao Chao. We'll get the White Windflower and come right back."

The trio left the bistro. Monica ran inside the time gate, and Max and Gokuu stood outside of it. She lifted her right arm, and they went to the past.

"I went to one floor that had nothing in it," Gokuu said. "It was after the one that used to have Gemrons in it, but the Elfas took it over."

"That's probably where the White Windflower is," Max said.

The trio rode the condor to the empty floor. They jumped off the condor upon arriving. The condor did not leave.

Gokuu cupped his hands around his mouth to project his voice. "Why aren't you leaving? You usually leave 'cause of the monsters."

The condor stared at a nest with a blue void in it straight ahead. The trio looked at the nest.

"Is that your nest?" Max said.

The condor shook its head.

"What's that thing inside there?"

"That's a time distortion," Monica said. "When Griffon disturbed the flow of time, it became warped and strained in places. That's the result. I thought they were only in my era, but it looks like they've started appearing in this era, too."

A condor with a rock on its head landed on a boulder in front of the trio.

"Another condor?" Max said. "Is it another animal?"

The condor with the rock on its head looked up at the condor that had carried the trio. It smiled. The other condor smiled back.

"Hello," the condor with the rock on its head said. "How have you been doing lately?"

The other condor grinned and made a squeaking noise with its mouth.

"It talks," Monica said.

"I thought the condor that had been carrying us was the only one left," Gokuu said.

"Guess not," Max said.

The condor with the rock on its head looked at the trio. "I'm Barga. I've seen that my friend's flown you all over this canyon. That's a very dangerous job. But you've brought her Giant Meat for her and her babies, so that makes up for it."

"And we've protected her from the monsters," Gokuu said.

"Yes, I see. She's never come back here hurt or anything. Thanks for that."

The condor perched itself next to Barga and smiled.

"What kind of relationship do you have with the condor?" Monica said.

"We're friends," Barga said. "We're the only two adult condors left, so we have to stick together. I'm one of the rare condors that can talk. That makes me a monster."

"Wow, I can understand you without transforming into a monster."

"So can I," Max said.

"I can talk to all species, and they can all understand me. It's a very convenient ability."

The condor screeched at the trio.

"She said that now that I can translate for her, she wants to thank you for defending her from the monsters and bringing her Giant Meat. She was sure her babies were going to die from hunger, and then you three came along."

"We're just doing what's right," Monica said.

"Sorry to change the subject, but have you seen a White Windflower?" Max said. "We need it for a girl who's very ill."

"White Windflower?" Barga looked at the condor. The condor shook her head. "Neither of us has heard about it, but we can look for it if you'd like."

"Yes, we'd appreciate that," Monica said. "By the way, is that your nest with the time distortion in it?"

"It is. I was going to ask if you could try and fix it while we were looking. Sorry to trouble you more, but my babies are inside, and I haven't been able to get to them for almost a week because of that thing. Every time I try to get close to it, I feel my body being ripped apart. My babies are probably deep inside my nest so that thing can't rip their bodies in two, but I can still hear them crying a lot, and it tears me up inside."

"You didn't have to ask," Monica said. "I was going to ask if you needed us to get rid of it for you."

"Really? Thank you so much. We'll be looking closely all over Starlight Canyon and Balance Valley for this white wind-thingy of yours." Barga and the condor flew over the canyon wall.

"So, how do get rid of the time thing?" Gokuu said.

"We need to play a game called Spheda," Monica said. "I know, playing a game to get rid of something so serious sounds dumb, but it's what people in the future do all the time, like a sport. There are even competitions for it." She began walking around, looking. "Now where is it?" She walked on top of a hill and saw a red sphere. "There it is." She ran to it. "Max, Gokuu, come here for a sec."

They did so. They stared at the Sphere.

"See this? This is called a Sphere. It's a fragment that falls out of a time distortion when it first appears. This is what people use to knock the distortions out. We need to get it in the distortion when they're opposite colors to destroy the distortion."

"I'll throw it in," Gokuu said, reaching for the Sphere.

"No, Gokuu, you can't touch it with your bare hands," Monica said, grabbing his arm and stopping him. "I know a guy who grabbed a Sphere once. His hand started to stretch and become blurry, like it was becoming distorted. His hand is still feeling the repercussions of that. Even the scientists from Luna Lab can't figure out a way to fix it."

"Luna Lab?" Max said.

"Even though it was destroyed, a few scientists from there are prowling around. We'll get there a little later. Anyway, we need a long stick or something to hit the Sphere. Can you two find one?"

Max and Gokuu walked around the valley, searching for a stick. Max found a stick near Barga's nest.

"I got it," he said. Gokuu stopped looking, and they returned to Monica.

"That should do," Monica said. "Now I'll tell you how to hit the Sphere."

* * *

"Give it a try," Monica said after explaining the rules of Spheda.

"That's really complicated," Gokuu said.

"Do you need me to explain again?"

"No, I still don't think I would get it."

"I think I understand," Max said. "I'll try."

"Good luck," Monica said.

"Yeah, good luck, Max," Gokuu said.

Max gripped the stick as he got into position. His feet were parallel to the Sphere. He looked up to see where he would hit the Sphere.

_Those sand dunes don't look like good places to hit it in, _Max thought. _I might have a hard time getting the Sphere out of there. _He saw water surrounding Barga's nest. _Water doesn't look too good, either. I can't see the distortion because of those two boulders, so I'll need at least two shots. _He looked at the Sphere. _The Sphere is already the opposite color, so if I bump it, it'll become blue. I could try to get it in one shot, but I don't think that's possible from here since that boulder is in the way. Guess I just gotta try._

Max began to swing. He tried to hit the Sphere lightly, but not too light, toward Barga's nest and to keep the angle close to the ground. He hit the Sphere. It was close to the ground, but it landed in the water.

"Argh," Max said, taking his cap off with his free hand and running it through his hair. "I didn't mean to hit it that hard."

"Don't worry, it'll come back," Monica said. "You have one less shot than before, though, so be careful."

Fragments of the Sphere came out of the water, flew where Max was, and came together, creating another Sphere. Max got into position and began to swing. He hit the Sphere with less force. However, his timing was off, and the Sphere went in the wrong direction. It landed in a sand dune to the left.

Max put his hand on his forehead, his teeth gritted, and stared at the Sphere. He was about to run to it and try and get it out of the dune when it materialized next to him.

Max concentrated on the Sphere. He held the stick tighter as he shifted his feet closer to the Sphere.

_I don't know how many shots I have left, but I have a feeling that I have to get it this time, _Max thought. _But how do I get the Sphere in the distortion in one shot when that boulder is in the way? But there's another—_

"Max."

Max jumped a little and then turned to see Monica beside him.

"You're reading into it too much. I mean, look, you're sweating. Relax."

Max wiped his brow and looked at the palm of his hand. Sweat glistened on it.

"I'm trying to think of a way to get this Sphere in the distortion in one shot. You said it disappears forever if I can't get it in a certain amount of shots, and I have a feeling that this is my last shot."

Monica backed away as Max adjusted his position, ensuring that his left foot was parallel to the Sphere.

_It looks like I'll have to bump the Sphere a couple of times, _Max thought. _Those two boulders look like the way to do it. I'll bump using the one closest to me first. Then, the Sphere should hit the other boulder and go into the distortion. That should wipe it out._

Max hit the Sphere. It hit the boulder closest to him and bounced off, changing from red to blue. It flew downward and hit the ground, rolling toward the second boulder and then stopping.

"Darn," Max said. "It didn't work out like I had hoped, but now I can start from there." He began running toward the Sphere when it shattered. A sound resembling breaking glass echoed throughout the valley, and its remnants floated into the air, dissipating. "Huh?"

Monica and Gokuu walked to him.

"Looks like that was your last shot," Monica said.

"I could've gotten it in another shot, too," Max said. "Does that mean the distortion stays forever?"

Monica looked at the spot the Sphere was in originally. It was there.

She pointed at the Sphere. "Look."

Max grinned when he saw the Sphere.

_You're welcome. _The voice penetrated the trio's thoughts.

Max frowned. "Griffon."

"You heard him, too?" Monica said.

"Yeah," Max said.

"Me, too," Gokuu said. "Hey, Griffon, why are you helping us? It defeats the purpose of destroying the world if you're gonna help us fix time things and stuff."

The trio listened for the voice for a few minutes, but it never came.

"We can't worry about him right now," Max said. "If he really did give us another chance, then we have to take it." He ran to the Sphere and got into position. He tapped it toward the boulder closest to Barga's nest, keeping its angle close to the ground. It rolled a few feet and then stopped, its color blue.

He ran to it. He hit it with more force than before. The Sphere tapped the boulder closest to the nest and rolled backward slightly. The Sphere was now red.

_If I can get my timing right, I can get rid of it, _Max thought. He began to swing. He hit the Sphere hard and at an upward angle. The Sphere hit the distortion. The distortion imploded in a swirl of red and blue.

"Alright, I did it!" Max said, raising a fist into the air.

"Awesome, Max," Gokuu said, he and Monica running to him.

"Yeah, you're good," Monica said.

Barga and the condor came back, hovering above the trio.

"We couldn't find your White Windflower," Barga said. "We looked all over Starlight Canyon. We're sorry."

"I hate to say it, but we might have to ask the monsters," Monica said.

"We got rid of the time distortion, though," Max said.

"You did?" Barga said, looking at her nest. "Oh, my babies." She flew into her nest. After feeding her chicks, she came out and landed in front of the trio. The condor landed as well.

"Thank you so much," Barga said. "If there's any way you want me to repay you, just name it." She bowed. A white flower was on top of her head.

"Look," Max and Monica said while pointing at the flower in unison.

"This is it," Max said. "The flower we've been looking for. It's growing on your head."

"That flower wasn't there before," Gokuu said. "They sure do grow fast."

Barga looked up and saw the flower. "I would have never imagined it'd be growing on my head. Go ahead and take it."

Gokuu jumped up and plucked the flower from Barga's head. "Got it." He landed on the ground.

"Now Lao Chao can make the miracle dish," Max said.

"By the way, when you destroyed the time hole thing, this fell out," Barga said. "I don't know what it is, and it looks like it'll just get in my way, so here, take it."

Clutched in Barga's talons was a blue rod. She hovered above Max and dropped it. Max caught it.

"What's this?" Max said, turning the rod over in his hands.

"That's a Swan club," Monica said. "It's used for Spheda. Now when you play Spheda, you don't have to use that stick. It'll make it easier for you to play."

Max put the Swan in his pouch.

"We can both fly you two back to the entrance," Barga said as the condor smiled. "It's just a small return favor, compared to what you did for us."

"Yes, that'd be helpful," Monica said.

"I usually run outta the floors," Gokuu said. "It gives me a good workout, so that's what I'll do this time, too."

Max climbed on Barga's back while Monica climbed on the condor's back. They flew a slow, gentle flight to Starlight Canyon's entrance. Gokuu was at the entrance when they arrived. His hand was on his knee, and his leg was outstretched. He watched the condors lower themselves to the ground. Max and Monica hopped off.

"Thanks again," Barga said. "Maybe we can take turns taking you from one floor to the next from now on."

"That's a good idea," Monica said. "It'll give the other condor a break."

"See you." Barga and the condor flew over the canyon wall and into the distance.

The trio ran into the time gate and went to the future. They ran into the bistro, Gokuu carrying the White Windflower. Lao Chao stood behind the bar, facing the door.

"You got it?" Lao Chao said as the trio walked to them. "Unbelievable. How?"

"It's kind of a long story," Max said.

"I suppose you can't spare me the details, since you're in a rush. I'll prepare this dish as quickly as possible."

Gokuu gave him the White Windflower. He stared at it.

"I hope I remember how to make this," he said. He saw Monica's eyes wide and her mouth moving, albeit with nothing coming out, and said, "Just kidding. Sorry."

"Geez, at such a serious time," Monica said, clenching her hands.

Lao Chao began to cook. Less than ten minutes later, he finished and gave Monica the Miracle Dumplings.

"Wow, these look great," Monica said, Max and Gokuu staring at the dish. Gokuu salivated. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime," Lao Chao said. "Anything for the young heroes."

The trio left the bistro. They went to the past and then went into Lin's house. The owl's eyes lit up, and his moustache twitched upward.

"Hoo, you got the Miracle Dumplings?" the owl said, flying to them. "Hurry and give them to Lin."

They walked to Lin, the owl following close behind.

"Lin," Monica said. "Can you wake up?"

Lin opened her eyes partially and looked at Monica, then Max, then Gokuu and, finally, the owl.

"Argo?" she said.

"Yes, Lin, it's me."

She closed her eyes.

"Sorry, Lin, but you have to stay awake," Monica said. "We're going to give you something that'll cure you of your toxic mist."

Lin slowly opened her eyes.

"I guess I have to feed her. Argo, was it?"

"That's right," Argo said, nodding.

"Do you have a fork or some kind of utensil that I can feed her with?"

Argo flew to a drawer against the wall, opened it with one of his talons, took out a fork with the other talon, and closed the drawer. He gave it to Monica.

_I've never fed anyone before, _Monica thought, a light blush appearing on her cheeks as she bent over Lin. "Uh, can you open your mouth, please?"

Lin did so.

Monica looked at Argo. "Wait, can she even eat?"

"She hasn't eaten at all ever since this illness got a hold of her," Argo said. "I've tried to, but she wouldn't open her mouth."

"Here goes," Monica said, picking up some of the dumplings using the fork and then putting it into Lin's mouth. Once Lin had scraped the dumplings off the fork with her teeth, Monica tilted the fork upward and then withdrew it.

Lin chewed slowly. She swallowed. Her eyes widened for a moment.

As Monica continued to feed her, Lin chewed faster and became more animated. When she was fed half of the dish and was sitting up, she looked at the trio and said, "Who—"

"Don't say anything right now," Monica said. "Just keep eating."

Soon, Lin had been fed the entirety of the dumplings. She looked the trio up and down and then said, "Who are you?"

The trio introduced themselves.

Argo flew to Lin. "Lin, are you alright? How are you feeling?"

"Fine, Argo. Why would I feel bad?"

"What?"

Lin looked around. "But why am I here? Did Master Crest go away for training again and not tell me?"

"Don't you remember what happened at the lighthouse?"

"The lighthouse? What happened there?"

Monica and Argo exchanged looks, Monica biting her lip.

"You must've lost your memory," Argo said. "I'm sorry, but Crest is dead."

"No, he can't be dead. He can't be."

"I hate to say it, but it's true. He died trying to protect the Moon Crystal."

"Crest isn't dead, Argo." Lin grunted and held her head in her hands. "My head. It hurts."

"It must be the amnesia," Monica said.

After recovering from the episode, Lin got out of bed, her back facing Argo, who was perched on his stick, and the trio. Her head was held down.

"Everything is going to be alright," Argo said. "These three are working to revive Crest. You can go with them, regain your memories, and become Crest's apprentice again."

"Just come with us," Monica said. "Everything'll be fine."

Lin faced the trio and looked them up and down.

"I trust them," Argo said. "They were the ones who went through Starlight Canyon and brought you those dumplings. They'll protect you from the monsters."

"For sure," Gokuu said.

"Everything will be better when you go with them. They'll fix everything, I'm sure of it."

Lin stared at the trio for a moment. She began walking toward the door. "I'll go."


	28. The Devourer of Memories

**Chapter Twenty-eight: The Devourer of Memories**

"We have to ride condors to get to the next floor," Monica said. "Are you okay with that?"

Lin nodded. "Yes."

Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Lin stood in front of the entrance to Starlight Canyon, waiting for the condors.

"Here they come." Max pointed at the two silhouetted condors circling each other in front of the rising sun. They flew to the four.

"A new friend of yours?" Barga said.

"She's the girl who was sick," Monica said. "Her name is Lin."

"Nice to meet you," Lin said, bowing.

"The same to you," Barga said as the condor bowed its head. "I'm Barga. The condor next to me doesn't have a name."

The condor screeched.

"She says you can call her whatever you please."

"Is Mrs. Condor fine?" Lin said.

The condor smiled and nodded.

"We want to take the moon exit on the floor where the Elfas used to be," Monica said. "We've already gotten the Geostones from a few of the floors, so we need to go to the next one."

"I believe that's the one that has the Yorda tree on it," Barga said.

Lin's eyes widened.

"What's wrong, Lin?" Monica said.

Lin's eyes narrowed slightly. "That name sounds familiar. Yorda, that is."

"If that's the case, then maybe you can recover some of your memories there."

Max and Gokuu climbed on Barga's back while Monica and Lin climbed on the condor's back. The condors began to rise in the air. Lin looked down. The path and trees became smaller every second. She gripped the condor's sides.

The condors flew to Yorda's Valley. They dropped the four off and then flew over the canyon wall.

"What a huge tree," Max said.

"It's holy," Monica said. "They say it's thousands of years old."

"Amazing."

Lin, who stood behind the trio, stared up at the tree. Memories of her and Crest talking in front of it entered her mind. She had asked Crest his reason for becoming a sage, and he had said that he wanted to defend others just by being there.

Lin gripped her forehead, screaming. Purple smoke emanated from her head. A large monster began to emerge from the smoke.

"What's that?" Max said.

"It's a Memo-eater," Monica said. "It must've gotten into Lin's head and eaten her memories."

Gokuu cracked his knuckles. "We gotta beat it up?"

"Yeah. That way, it can't prey on anyone else."

The Memo-eater extracted itself from Lin's head and landed on the ground. The ground shook upon its landing, and Max, Monica, and Lin stumbled.

"Lin, get back," Max said.

"Okay." Lin ran behind the Yorda tree.

"Let's try not to damage the tree," Monica said.

"Got it," Gokuu said.

Max took out his camera and took a picture of the Memo-eater.

"Max, this is no time to be taking pictures," Monica said.

"That might have been one of the few chances I got to snap a photo. I'd like to keep some mementos of our adventure."

The Memo-eater inhaled and then spewed out green balls with spikes on them. The trio jumped back. The balls landed some feet in front of them, dissolving into green puddles.

"Something tells me that we shouldn't step in that," Monica said.

The Memo-eater ran toward the trio. Gokuu disappeared and reappeared behind it. He punched it in its back. The Memo-eater fell.

"It's not that strong, guys," Gokuu said. "It's soft."

Monica jumped, her Shamshir lifted above her head. When she was close enough to behead it, the Memo-eater headbutted her in the torso. She flew upward and then fell down a few feet behind Max.

"Monica," Max said, running toward her.

She stood up. "Don't worry about me. Get the Memo-eater."

Max turned around to see Gokuu kicking the side of the Memo-eater's face. The Memo-eater's head twisted almost 180 degrees, its neck snapping.

"We have to work together," Monica said. "Just like before."

"Right," Max said. He and Monica ran toward the Memo-eater. The Memo-eater was cracking its neck while turning around to face Gokuu.

"Gokuu said it's soft," Max said. "That means its defense is low." He aimed at the Memo-eater's stomach with his Jurak Gun while Monica charged her Crystal Brassard. Max shot while Monica released her magic. The beam hit it. The Memo-eater turned its head to look at Max and Monica. The fireball hit its face. The Memo-eater clutched its head and roared. Gokuu punched the Memo-eater's stomach, and it fell.

The Memo-eater stood up. It spat green balls toward Gokuu. Gokuu jumped in the air, and the balls flew under him, landing close behind him and creating green puddles.

"I think it's time to finish you off," Gokuu said. "I'm gonna send you flying." He backed up while winding up his arm. He stepped in a green puddle. He tried to run forward but couldn't.

"What is this?" Gokuu lifted his feet. Green goo was attached to the bottom of his shoes.

The Memo-eater began to run to the Yorda tree. Max and Monica ran after it. Max shot, and Monica unleashed a fireball. The beam and fireball hit its back, but it didn't stop. It ran behind the Yorda tree and picked up Lin. Lin screamed.

Max and Monica continued to shoot and release fireballs. The Memo-eater did not flinch when it was hit. They jumped toward the Memo-eater, which was hitting Lin in her face with its snout, as though it were slapping her. Monica sliced its torso while Max smashed its head. The Memo-eater roared and threw Lin into the tree.

"Lin!" Max and Monica said in unison.

The Memo-eater jumped, causing a small earthquake. Max and Monica fell, Max's hat rolling off. It picked Lin up and ran past Max and Monica toward the bridge.

"It's going to the next floor," Max said as he and Monica stood up.

The Memo-eater disappeared past the canyon walls.

"I can't get outta this stuff," Gokuu said. His right hand was gripped to his right calf, and he was lifting his leg. The goo was attached to his foot.

"I'll go after it," Monica said. "Max, you stay here and try to figure out a way to get Gokuu out of that green goo."

"Alright." Max put on his hat and then ran to Gokuu. He began looking over the goo.

Monica ran across the bridge and past the walls. The Memo-eater wasn't in sight. _How can something so big be so fast?_

* * *

The Memo-eater ran into a valley that was close to the sea. Rama Priests, Yo-yo Barrels, and Wind Elements were everywhere. It ran past the monsters, the monsters watching it.

"I've never seen a monster like that before," a Wind Element said.

"You know how the Dragons are about new monsters coming here," a Duke Balloon inside a Yo-yo Barrel said. "If that monster is as smart as it looks, it won't last very long."

The Memo-eater swiveled around to face the Duke Balloon, running backward.

"B-by that I meant that you look smart enough to take over this canyon," the Duke Balloon said.

The Memo-eater glared at the Duke Balloon for a few seconds and then faced forward.

Lin's head pounded from the Memo-eater's running, its steps equivalent to leaps. The Memo-eater tripped over a small hill in the road, stumbling. Lin's head hit the Memo-eater's head. The Memo-eater released a small cry and fell. Its grip on Lin disappeared. Lin crawled some inches away from the Memo-eater and then stood up. She ran away.

Lin searched the sky. "Mrs. Condor, Barga, help, quick!"

The world spun as she was lifted into the air and brought to the Memo-eater's face. It roared. Lin's bangs were blown out of her eyes. The Memo-eater ran.

_If I scream, Max or Monica might be able to find me. _Lin began to scream. The Memo-eater covered her mouth. She bit its hand, but the Memo-eater didn't remove it.

Lin looked behind her. She saw Monica running toward them. Monica smiled. She stepped on top of a small hill and then jumped, her Shamshir lifted above her head.

Lin saw a purple blur out of the corner of her eye. A monster flew in front of Monica and swatted her into the sea.

"Stay out of this, human," the Dragon said as it and two other Dragons landed in front of the Memo-eater.

_Master Crest said Dragons were the most powerful monsters, _Lin thought_. He said that they were the reason why I should stay out of Starlight Canyon unless I need to go the lighthouse. Even then, I have to turn into a Ram to go through._

The Memo-eater charged toward the Dragons. The Dragon in the middle spread open its arms, catching the Memo-eater.

"We don't permit any new monster into our territory," the Dragon said in the Memo-eater's ear. "Especially with a human." The Dragon pushed the Memo-eater away.

"We'll allow you a chance to leave," another Dragon said. "If you don't take it, things won't end well for you."

* * *

Monica surfaced, clutching her swelling cheek. "Oh, boy."

Dragons were in front of the Memo-eater, which carried Lin.

"They don't look too happy," Monica said. "I have a feeling a huge fight is about to break out, and Lin'll be right in the middle of it. I need to get Lin out of there, but I can't take on that many Dragons at once." She looked around. "Maybe there's something I can use to distract them with."

Duke Balloons, Rama Priests, and Wind Elements pretended to be talking to each other, but watched the scene out the corners of their eyes.

"It looks like they won't help, either." She swam toward the shore. "I know it's a long shot, but maybe I can reason with them."

Monica climbed on the canyon ground and then walked in the middle of the Dragons and Memo-eater. The monsters continued to glare at each other.

"Uh, excuse me."

The Dragons and Memo-eater glared at Monica. She transformed into a Himarra.

"This Memo-eater took that human against her will," Monica said, pointing at Lin. "I'm here to take her back. I don't want to fight."

The Dragons stared at Monica for a few moments and then looked at the Memo-eater.

"Is that true?" a Dragon said.

Monica's eyes widened for a moment. _They believe me._

"Yeah," the Memo-eater said. "This human's had some bad memories haunting her. I think she doesn't want to remember them, and I like eating memories. We make a perfect match."

"Red-furred human," the Dragon said, turning to Monica, "don't let our believing your story get to your head. Your story made much sense. I can look at the purple-furred human and tell she doesn't want to be with that Memo-eater. That doesn't mean we completely trust you."

Another Dragon glared at the Memo-eater. "Fool. Never bring humans onto our holy grounds."

"I don't care what your rules are," the Memo-eater said. "I didn't bother anyone, so leave me alone." It snorted and then spat the green balls at the Dragons. The Dragons flew upward.

The Memo-eater thrust itself toward the Dragons. The Dragons flew to the side. The Memo-eater fell on its stomach, Lin, still held in its hand, falling facefirst.

_She'll be killed if I don't do something, _Monica thought. _If the monsters are distracted long enough, I might be able to take Lin back._

The Memo-eater put the palm of its hand on the ground and pushed itself up. A Dragon punched it in its face, crushing it. The Memo-eater flew backwards and fell on its back, Lin slamming into the ground. It and Lin were motionless.

Monica ran to the Memo-eater and pried an unconscious Lin from its fingers.

"Man, that blow finished both of them off." Monica transformed into a human. She carried Lin in her arms toward the entrance. "Kintoun!" Kintoun stopped in front of her. She hopped on it and sat Lin on her knees. Lin fell against Monica's back. Kintoun began to fly to Yorda's Valley.

Lin twitched. She opened her eyes and then sat up. "What happened?"

"The Memo-eater fought with the Dragons while holding on to you, and you and the Memo-eater were knocked out."

They arrived at Yorda's Valley. Kintoun stopped close to the ground.

"Can you walk?" Monica said.

"I think so," Lin said, stretching her arms and legs. She swung her legs off Kintoun and placed her feet on the ground. She stood up.

Max was pouring Tasty Water on the green goo. The goo was evaporating.

"Monica, you're back," Max said.

"The Memo-eater and the Dragons are fighting right now," Monica said, hopping off Kintoun. Kintoun flew away. "I think it's because the Memo-eater is a stranger in Starlight Canyon, and the Dragons don't like strangers. Plus, it brought a human, so that was two strikes against it. The Memo-eater was going to eat Lin's memories again. I was only able to get Lin because the Dragons knocked the Memo-eater unconscious, but I'm sure the Memo-eater's up and trying to defeat the Dragons."

All of the goo had evaporated. Max put the stopper on the water bottle as Gokuu lifted his feet. "It's probably too dangerous to head back to that floor."

"Yeah, let's go back to Balance Valley. We need to go to Starlight Temple and get a Starglass anyway. A Starglass lets someone go back to an important time in their life. For Lin, that was when Crest was killed at the lighthouse. If we go to the lighthouse at the end of Starlight Canyon, we'll be able to use the Starglass and prevent Crest from being killed." She looked at Lin. "Sound good?"

A grin spread on Lin's face. She nodded.

* * *

After obtaining the Starglass, the four went to the floor on which the Memo-eater took Lin.

"I defeated some monsters while I was chasing the Memo-eater," Monica said, "so we won't see any for a little while."

The four went to the area where the Memo-eater and Dragons had fought. Half of a crater was in the ground. The crater was cut off at the edge of the road.

"I don't think I even want to know what happened here," Monica said.

"Lin, why don't you follow us on Kintoun so you don't get attacked again?" Max said.

Monica smiled. "Great idea, Max."

Gokuu called Kintoun, and it came to them. Lin climbed on it. It flew high above the trio but was still in sight.

After defeating the monsters, they went to the next floor. Barga and the condor flew away immediately, as three Dragons were at the entrance. Monica transformed into a Himarra.

"Those are the Dragons that attacked the Memo-eater," Monica said.

"I was thinking it was time to beat you guys up," Gokuu said. "You guys are gonna die soon anyway, right?"

"We're the only ones left," the Dragon in the middle said. "We have short lifespans, so we must choose our successors quickly. We need to make sure that they keep humans out."

"Humans don't do anything," Monica said.

"Yes, they do. They indirectly cause problems. This canyon was peaceful until they arrived."

"The Golems are stronger than all the monsters here," the Dragon on the right said. "They can breed, so there will always be many of them."

Monica gawked. _How do they...?_

"Yes, I think they'll be good successors, too," the Dragon on the left said.

The three Dragons flew over the canyon wall.

"But the Golems are our friends," Gokuu said. "They're scared of the Dragons. What if they turn on us?"

"We won't know until we see them again," Monica said.

* * *

A large group of Golems sat in the middle of the road, a few lying on their backs, their hands behind their heads. No monsters had come to interrupt their rest until the Dragons landed close to them. Upon seeing them, the Golems stood up.

"Good afternoon," the Golems said in unison.

"Good afternoon," the middle Dragon said. "As you know, ever since the Elfas killed the Gemrons, we have been dying out. Now there are only three of us left. You Golems are the strongest monsters in the canyon. We have chosen you as our successors."

"We get to rule over the canyon?" a Golem said.

"Yes. You'll need to keep the humans out."

"Y-yes," the Golem said. "We will."

"What about us?"

The Golems and Dragons turned around to see Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Lin.

"Eavesdropping?" the Dragon on the right said through gritted teeth.

"We've been your friends for a long time," Gokuu continued. "Would you really turn on us?"

The Golems looked at each other.

"Remember what happens when you disobey us," a Dragon said.

"Don't worry about them," Monica said. "We'll take care of them right now." She transformed into a human and withdrew her recently built-up sword, the Dusack. On her arm was her built-up armband, a Platinum Brassard. "I'll take the one in the middle."

"I'll fight the one on the right," Gokuu said.

"That leaves me with the one on the left," Max said, gripping his Question Shooter. "Can you guys move aside?"

The Golems scaled the wall many feet and then stopped, grabbing rocks to hold their positions. Lin flew higher.

"We needed to kill you all anyway," the middle Dragon said. "We didn't really think that the Golems were going to kill you themselves. We're sure they won't be merciful on other humans that come here."

"Enough talk," Gokuu said. "Let's do this."


	29. Three Slayers

**Chapter Twenty-nine: Three Slayers**

Max aimed at the Dragon with his Question Shooter and shot. The Dragon curled its wings in front of its body. The beam hit the Dragon's wings and left behind a black circle the size of the beam.

_Alright, I was able to hurt it, _Max thought. _It's not as tough as I thought._

_How dare that human damage my wings? _The Dragon inhaled, preparing to release a fireball.

_Why did you allow the other monsters to take the condors' food away from them?_

_Why don't you trust humans?_

_Why do you allow the monsters to live in constant fear of you?_

The Dragon spat out its fireball toward Max. Max backflipped. The fireball landed in front of him and exploded in red.

The Dragon looked around, its neck swiveling in all directions. "Who speaks to me at such an important time?"

Max shot. The beam passed through the exploding fireball. He heard the Dragon roar.

_What gives you the right to rule over other monsters' lives?_

_What gives you the right to bully and kill animals when there are so few left?_

"Who is speaking to me?" The Dragon looked at the sky and roared.

Max ran around the disappearing fireball to the Dragon. He smashed its legs. Its legs gave, and it fell into a sitting-upright position. The Dragon stood and then swiped its claws. Max backflipped. The Dragon stepped forward as Max was in midair and slashed Max across the torso. Max landed on his feet, fabric from his overalls floating to the ground and revealing three red lines.

The Dragon released a fireball. Max took three large steps to the side, the fireball exploding a few feet away from him. Max shot at the Dragon. The Dragon ducked, and the beam passed over it. Max aimed lower and shot. The beam hit its right leg.

_Who would allow such a bad ruler to stay in power?_

The Dragon clutched its head. "Who is this? Who dares to speak to me now?" It looked at Max from between its fingers. "You. Why did I not figure it out? It is you, human."

The Dragon dashed to Max and covered his head with one hand, its claws digging into his temples. It lifted him to its face.

"I do not know how you are doing it," the Dragon said as Max kicked its torso, "but you are getting into my head. Maybe humans have some sort of mind-controlling power. But that matters not." It slammed Max against the wall, creating a crater. "Today marks the end of your life."

It scraped Max up and down the wall. Max's cap fell off. Max smashed the Dragon's arm with his Cubic Hammer. The Dragon roared and let go of Max. Max slid down the wall and ran around the Dragon. He smashed its back. The Dragon stumbled forward. It swiped its tail, catching Max in the side. Max flew sideways and fell, rolling until coming to a stop at the bottom of a small hill. He stood and ran toward the Dragon, shooting.

"I won't let your psychic powers control me." It swiped its arms, deflecting the beams. Black lines appeared on its arms. It flew to Max and grabbed his neck. It slammed him into the ground and then into the wall. Max gasped for air.

"Fool. Do you think your small power can compare to a Dragon's?" It took Max's head off the wall and then slammed it repeatedly.

Blood rolled down Max's face. He closed his eyes to avoid getting blood in them. _If I don't end this fight quick, it'll be the end of me._ He gritted his teeth._ How did Father use it? _He pulled a second trigger behind the main one. The Question Shooter began to absorb air.

Max went in and out of consciousness as the Dragon continued to slam his head against the wall. The Dragon made a low chuckle.

_I hope that's enough. _Max pulled the second trigger. The Question Shooter stopped absorbing air. He aimed at the Dragon's torso and pulled the main trigger. A normal-sized beam emerged from the gun. The Dragon's grip on Max disappeared, and it was blown backward. Max saw its eyes roll back. It disintegrated before it could reach the water.

Max dropped his weapons and then fell facedown. He fell asleep.

* * *

The Dragon dashed to Monica and swiped its claws. Monica backflipped. While she was in midair, she began to charge her magic. She landed and released the fireball. The Dragon bent down and opened its mouth. The fireball entered its mouth, its cheeks becoming shaped like a balloon. It released a larger fireball toward Monica. Monica backflipped twice. The fireball landed some feet in front of her and exploded.

_Looks like I can't do that. _Monica watched the smoke from the fireball. In the smoke was a silhouette of the Dragon. _It's not going to surprise me. _She ran into the smoke and then slashed her Dusack. The silhouette became blurry. Monica felt a sharp pain in her back, and she crashed into the wall. She remained there for a few seconds and then fell. Above her, the Dragon waved its tail toward her.

Monica rolled over as the Dragon smashed its tail on the ground. She stood and faced the Dragon, which was inhaling, its head pointed upward. She circled around the Dragon, whose eyes were closed as it released a fireball. Monica stopped behind it. She jumped to the Dragon's neck; stabbed it, her sword almost penetrating the other side; withdrew her sword; and landed.

The Dragon's eyes lost color. It fell onto its knees and then fell facedown.

_It's not disintegrating. I must've only knocked it unconscious. I thought I hit it in a vital region. _Monica slowly walked to the Dragon. She pointed her sword horizontally at the Dragon's neck.

_Now to finish it off._

The Dragon rolled over, grabbing the blade of Monica's sword, and rose to its feet. Monica, who held onto the hilt, was lifted into the air.

_N-no. My sword will…_

Monica's Dusack broke in half. Monica fell on the ground, holding the hilt, while the Dragon held half the blade. Monica watched the Dragon throw the blade into the water. She stared at the hilt, a small part of the blade still attached to it, her mouth agape.

_Now I have no choice but to use magic. _She charged her brassard.

"You are a fool," the Dragon said.

She aimed at the lower half of the Dragon's body and launched two fireballs. One fireball went toward the Dragon's right leg. The Dragon bent and ate it. It leaned to the left and ate the other fireball. It inhaled and released a fireball that was twice the size of both the fireballs that Monica had released combined. Monica backflipped. The fireball landed in front of her. A smaller fireball emerged from the larger, exploding one, moving toward Monica.

_It's too close and fast for me to dodge. _Monica guarded, crossing her arms and ducking her head into them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the small fireball hit the broken blade. The blade absorbed it. Monica's eyes widened.

She unleashed another fireball from the blade, this one slightly larger than the combined size of the fireballs she had released before. The Dragon bent, its mouth open. The fireball entered the Dragon's mouth and exploded, forcing the Dragon's head to tilt upward and starting a fire in its mouth. The Dragon kept its mouth open as it ran to the water, kneeled, and dunked its head.

Monica released as many fireballs as she could, not worrying about their sizes. The Dragon flinched with each hit. Monica ran to the Dragon and stomped on its tail. It jerked forward. She stomped it again. It jerked forward. She stomped it once more. It flipped underwater. The Dragon flailed, reaching for the ground.

Monica smirked. "The mighty Dragon can't swim, huh?"

The Dragon glared at her as a sudden current washed it down the river. Monica watched it smash into a wall and disintegrate.

* * *

"You are not human," the Dragon said to Gokuu, who was standing across from it. "I do not know what you are, but you belong to a powerful race. Why do you decide to help these humans?"

"Why not?" Gokuu said. "We're saving the world. And if you kill us, then no one will be able to anymore, and that wouldn't be good. But talking's boring. Let's fight."

Gokuu ran toward the Dragon at top speed. The Dragon turned sideways. Gokuu ran past it, skidding to a stop some distance away.

He turned toward the Dragon. "Wow. You can see me." He ran forward. He jumped and then outstretched his leg. The Dragon grabbed his leg and threw him into a wall.

"Sh-shoulda seen that comin'," Gokuu said. The Dragon smashed him with its elbow, creating a larger crater. The Dragon punched him in the stomach. Gokuu lost consciousness for a moment. The Dragon flew a few feet away and then charged toward him, its shoulder in the forefront. Gokuu released himself from the wall, landing on the ground. The Dragon crashed into the wall above him.

"My turn." Gokuu jumped up. He flew a little above the Dragon's tail. He thrust his arms downward, hitting the Dragon's tail with the palms of his hands and propelling himself upward. Wind whistled in his ears as he fell toward the Dragon's back. He kicked the Dragon's back and then landed behind the Dragon. He jumped forward and punched the Dragon as many times as he could before it began to wrench itself out of the wall. Gokuu landed on the ground and waited for it to release itself. It pushed itself out the crater. It fell on its back. It stood and pivoted to face Gokuu.

The Dragon dashed to Gokuu and swiped its claws. Gokuu jumped over the Dragon and landed behind it. The Dragon swiveled around. Gokuu threw a punch. The Dragon threw a punch. Their punches met, causing both of their bodies to shake from the shock. Gokuu's smaller body stopped shaking first. He pulled his fist away from the Dragon's fist and then ran close to the Dragon. He punched it in the gut. The Dragon, which had stopped shaking, coughed and reached for its gut. In the middle of its reaching, it made a fist and then punched Gokuu in the face. Gokuu bounced off the wall and then fell headfirst. He stood and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Good one," Gokuu said.

The Dragon jumped in the air. It pointed itself at Gokuu as though it were a missile and launched toward him. The Dragon appeared to be a blur to Gokuu as it approached. Gokuu used his left foot to begin his jump sideways, his right foot in front of him. The Dragon crashed into the ground. Gokuu hollered as rocks and a cloud of dust surrounded him and the Dragon. The Dragon's stomach lay on his left leg, and Gokuu lay on his stomach. Gokuu pushed himself up, the Dragon still crushing his leg. He slammed his right foot forward. He grinded it into the ground. He tried to pull his leg from under the Dragon's stomach, his right foot sliding toward himself. The Dragon rolled onto Gokuu, covering his body. Gokuu began to stand, pushing the Dragon off with his hands.

_That's it. _"Nyoi-bo, extend!" Gokuu's Nyoi-bo extended, piercing the Dragon's back. The Dragon roared and stood. Gokuu took two steps away from the Dragon. The Nyoi-bo stuck out of the Dragon's front and back. The Dragon began to pull the bloody Nyoi-bo out. As it did so, it released a fireball. Gokuu backflipped. The fireball exploded a ways in front of him. A smaller fireball from the larger one landed on Gokuu's shoe, bursting into flame. The flame covered Gokuu's shoe, and it was beginning to spread.

"W-water," Gokuu said as the Dragon removed the Nyoi-bo from its body, blood pouring from both puncture wounds, and dropped it. Gokuu faced the water and bent his knees to jump, but the Dragon grabbed him by the neck and lifted him to its face.

"I don't think so," the Dragon said. "I'll leave you someplace where there isn't any water and make sure you burn to death."

Gokuu kicked the Dragon in the chest with his flaming foot. A small flame erupted on its chest. It threw Gokuu into the water and then fell, rolling on the ground.

Gokuu surfaced. "Thanks for that." He climbed onshore and then jumped toward the Dragon.

The Dragon, having put out the flame, stood. It looked up and saw Gokuu's foot a few inches from its face. It saw flashing red lights as Gokuu stomped on it. He landed behind it and then punched and kicked it rapidly. He grabbed the Dragon's tail, smashed it into the wall thrice, and threw it toward the wall opposite them. It hit the top of the wall, went over it, and disintegrated.

"Well, that ends that," Gokuu said, picking up his Nyoi-bo. "What a great fight." He looked to his left. Monica was a distance away, staring at the hilt of her sword. He looked to his right. Lin and the Golems surrounded something. He ran to them.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Gokuu jumped in the air and saw Max lying on the ground with his hammer on the right side of him and his gun and hunting cap on the left side. A Golem was splashing water on his head.

"After he defeated the Dragon," another Golem said, "he lost consciousness. He's been like this for a few minutes."

Max lifted his head and then stood. The Golems cheered.

Lin smiled. "Great job, Max."

"Thanks." Max picked up his weapons and put on his cap. "It was pretty hard, but I did it. Where are Monica and Gokuu?"

The Golems moved aside, revealing Gokuu.

Gokuu grinned. "I just defeated my Dragon. And Monica's over there. I think she got hers, too." He pointed to the left. Monica, carrying the hilt of her sword, was walking toward them.

Upon reaching them, she transformed into a Himarra. "Everyone okay?"

Max nodded and said, "Yep" while Gokuu said, "Uh-huh."

Max pointed to her hilt. "What happened to your sword?"

Monica glared at the ground. "That Dragon broke it."

"At least you all survived." A Golem threw fists into the air and roared. The rest of the Golems copied it.

"That was to be expected," Monica said. "There was no way we'd lose to the likes of them." She looked at the wall, seeing craters, some deeper than others, lining its length. "I'm surprised this whole wall didn't collapse."

"We're sorry we didn't step in," a Golem said, "both during your fights with the Dragons just now and when we saw the Dragons bullying you. We were just too scared."

"Don't worry about it. We beat them, so it's okay."

"It's just that we feel like we betrayed you by not stepping in."

"Don't let that eat you up. We understand why you didn't. You were afraid that the Dragons were more powerful than you, and you could've gotten killed if you fought them. If that had happened, there wouldn't be any monsters to keep Starlight Canyon peaceful."

The Golem cocked its head. "What do you mean?"

"The monsters around here aren't used to not having another monster species rule over the canyon. The canyon could erupt into chaos without rulers. At my request, would you please rule over Starlight Canyon?"

The Golems looked at each other and then cheered, throwing their arms into the air.

"Of course."

"You got it."

"Definitely."

"We won't let you down," a Golem said, stepping forward. "You all were going to rule over this canyon since you defeated the Dragons, but since you've asked us to, we'll do it instead."

"We couldn't do it anyway," Monica said. "Restoring the world comes first. And we have homes to go back to."

"We won't rule so scarily like the Dragons did. We'll listen to the other monsters and let strangers into our canyon, after a thorough check, of course, and we won't kill monsters for breaking one little rule. This canyon will be peaceful and full of happy monsters."

Wind Elements, Yo-yo Barrels, Rama Priests, and the rest of the monsters in Starlight Canyon surrounded Max, Monica, Gokuu, Lin, and the Golems.

"You did it," a Crescent Baron said. "Now my light can shine even longer."

"Why, I thought it impossible," a Duke Balloon inside a Yo-yo Barrel said.

"I'm glad the gods saw fit to release us from the Dragon's torment," a Rama Priest said as, next to it, tears ran down a Ram's face.

"I think the canyon will be quiet from now on," a Smiling Fairy said. "When I think about it, all the things that happened were the monsters' fault."

The monsters nodded and some said, "Yeah."

"We're sorry," a Masked Tribesman said. "Guys, we oughta hold a celebration for them."

"Yeah!" the monsters said.

Monica waved her hands in front of her face. "No, no, you don't have to do that. We're kinda in a hurry. Maybe next time."

A Crescent Baron's head lit up. "Next time?"

"Yeah. Something tells me we'll have to come back later anyway. Those star gates we've seen in Rainbow Butterfly Wood and over here might be significant somehow. We might be able to find a way to pass that star gate that leads to the side where the Ballalas were. Then, we'll come back."

"I'm sure the monsters on the other side are also grateful," a Duke Balloon said. "They're too prideful to come out and show their gratitude."

Monica shook her head. "We didn't do this for thanks. You guys were in trouble, so we helped."

A Nikapous, two swooning Smiling Fairies and a Mimic rubbing against its mask, pounded its chest. "That's the way a warrior should live."

A Smiling Fairy walked to Monica, holding the Dusack's blade. "Some of the Smiling Fairies saw that brute break your sword and throw it into the water, so we decided to get it. We can repair it, too."

"Really? Thanks!" Monica gave the Dusack's other half to the Smiling Fairy. "Thanks for looking for it underwater. I was going to myself soon, but it probably would've taken me a while, with the currents and all."

"Oh, it's the least we can do. We had a whole team of us looking for it, so it didn't take us long to find it. Plus, we have knives and daggers ourselves, and we have to repair them a lot, so it won't take us long to fix this. C'mon, guys." It walked past Monica. Other Smiling Fairies followed it into a healing spring.

"Can you all do something else for us?" Monica said.

Yeses came from the monsters.

"Don't eat the Giant Meat we give to the condor. We give it to her for a reason. She needs to keep her babies alive, and I'm sure you all have plenty of food around here." She eyed a Ram.

"We stopped taking her food after you all got the Giant Meat without fighting," a King Mimic said. "Hey, even we can be a little sympathetic sometimes."

Monica's eyes softened. "I'm glad. The condors don't have to be afraid of interacting with you all anymore. Right?"

"Yeah!" the monsters said.

She turned to Max, Gokuu. "We should rest in Palm Brinks. We have a big fight coming up." She looked at Lin, who floated above all the monsters on Kintoun. "Tomorrow, we go to the lighthouse and save Crest."

Lin smiled from ear to ear.

"Need us to help?" a Golem said, cracking its knuckles.

"No, it's fine," Monica said. "We'll be able to handle it ourselves. Dr. Jaming might be with Gaspard, too, and he could put a mind-controlling device on you to turn you against us."

"That wouldn't happen. We're way too strong for that."

"I don't want to take chances on something this important, though. Sorry if we're disappointing you."

"No. If that's what you want, it's okay with us."

The Smiling Fairies ran to Monica, one in front carrying the repaired Dusack. It gave the Dusack to her.

"Wow, this looks like it's brand new," Monica said, looking over the Dusack. "And so quickly."

"Wasn't any trouble," the Smiling Fairy said. "It's the least we could do after the way we treated you all. I can't believe you saved us from the Dragons even after we attacked you and turned you over to the Ballalas."

"Beware," a Rama Priest said. "The Red Dragons in Mount Gundor usually come here every year to see their weaker brethren, the ones you just defeated. We'll have to tell them what happened, and they won't be happy. If you ever go to Mount Gundor, be careful. They'll be looking for you."

"Tell them that we will have to go to Mount Gundor soon," Monica said, "and we'll defeat them there. When exactly do they come?"

A Duke Balloon rubbed its chin and looked at the sky. "Around two months from now."

"I have a feeling they might hurt you all if they find out that you let humans kill the Dragons. That gives us two months to get through Ocean's Roar Cave and restore Veniccio. It's been about a month and a half since we came here. Don't worry. You won't see them at all."

"Thanks for protecting us," a Ram said. "We didn't stand a chance against the normal Dragons, and we definitely wouldn't stand a chance against the Red Dragons."

"Let's get going," Monica said. "We need as much rest as we can get." She led the way to the exit. The condor and Barga swooped to them. Max sat on the condor while Monica and Lin sat on Barga. They flew alongside each other while Gokuu ran toward Palm Brinks. Monica explained to Max what she and the monsters had discussed as they rode to Palm Brinks.


	30. Assault, Part One

**Chapter Thirty: Assault, Part One**

"It is time." Griffon sat on a throne in the garden, the crystal ball on a table in front of him. Gaspard and Dr. Jaming kneeled before him. He looked at the doorway, where Griffon Soldiers kneeled and stared at him. "Give the monsters the boosted Stamina Drinks."

"Yes, sir." The Griffon Soldiers left the garden.

Griffon looked in his crystal ball. Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Lin were arriving at Palm Brinks. "This is how revenge should be given."

* * *

Max, Monica, and Lin left the train. Gokuu and many citizens stood in the station.

"Hey," Gokuu said, waving. "You guys took forever. Guess I'm just getting faster."

Monica smiled. "Don't rub your strength in our faces."

Max, who had changed into a new pair of overalls, stretched. "It feels great to be back."

Donny walked to Max and slapped him on the back. "It's great to see y'all back."

Claire ran to Max and hugged him. She held him for a few seconds and then looked into his eyes. "Nothing happened this time, right?"

"Something did, but we fixed it. We'll tell you about it later. We didn't get hurt too badly."

"I'm glad." She released Max. "Oh, that's right. Daddy said he wanted to see you. He's in his office."

"I thought he was coming with us," Monica said.

"He is. He came back to help Morton, his replacement, with running the town."

"Is it urgent?"

"No, you can see him anytime."

"Good. We could really use some rest after everything that's happened. Sorry, everyone, but we'll tell you what happened tomorrow."

* * *

Max sat up in his bed. He took his hunting cap off the nightstand and put it on. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, hopped off, and stretched. He left his room and ran down the stairs into the foyer. Monica, Gokuu, and Lin sat on the edge of the fountain. They rose upon seeing him.

"Good morning," Max said.

"Good morning," Monica and Lin said in unison while Gokuu said, "Mornin'."

"How long was I asleep?"

Monica looked out a window. "We came back here at almost midnight, and it looks like the sun's about to set."

Max scratched the back of his head. "That long, huh?"

"Well, it's understandable. You and Gokuu said your fights were pretty tough, and Gokuu and I slept almost as long as you. Anyway, we'd better get to Mayor Need's office."

They began to walk to Palm Brinks Square. On their way, citizens greeted them, and they stopped to talk to a few. They arrived in the square and saw a tent. A sign above its flaps read, "Fishing Contest". A red ribbon was tied in front of the flaps. Mayor Need, Morton, and Fabio stood in front of the tent.

"Welcome back, Max, Monica, Gokuu," Mayor Need said, spreading apart his arms, a pair of scissors in his right hand. He looked at Lin. "And who is this young lady?"

Lin bowed. "I'm Lin. Nice to meet you."

"The same to you, Lin. I'm Mayor Need. I'll be going to the outside world soon, so you probably won't see much of me here."

"I'm Morton, his replacement. It's nice to meet you, too."

"What's this tent for?" Max said.

"It's for the new fishing contest," Morton said. "The mayor figured he'd set one up to take everyone's minds off Emperor Griffon and all that."

Max blinked, and his eyes lit up. "Wow, when's it start?"

"I planned for it to start as soon as you all got back. " Mayor Need turned to the ribbon in front of the flaps. He cut the ribbon using the scissors. "It begins now."

"I'm guessing that I need to catch the largest fish to win."

"That's right. You can catch up to ten fish, and the three fish whose weight is the largest will be totaled. You have three days. Good luck to all who participate."

Max turned and was about to walk to the river when Monica grabbed his arm.

"Max, remember what happened last time you went fishing?" she said as Fabio ran past them.

"I'm sure the fish won't attack me again."

"You said before that fishing doesn't put stress on your body, and look what happened."

Fabio ran to Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Lin. "Treasure chests appeared on Main Street."

"What?" Monica said. "What do you mean 'appeared'?"

"Exactly what I said. I went into Main Street, and they appeared in a puff of purple smoke."

"We'd better go check it out." Max began to run to Main Street, Monica, Gokuu, Lin, Fabio, Mayor Need, and Morton following.

* * *

Griffon watched Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Lin talk to the mayor and his replacement.

A Griffon Soldier stood in the doorway. "Sir, the monsters have been given the Stamina Drinks."

"Good. I'll put the treasure chests in Palm Brinks first. The monsters come second."

"Yes, sir."

Griffon closed his eyes. He repeatedly imagined the treasure chests disappearing from the palace and appearing in Palm Brinks.

_He can't hear when he's concentrating, _Gaspard thought. He whispered to Dr. Jaming, "Have you noticed that he's not going all-out?"

"Excuse me, sir?" Dr. Jaming looked at Gaspard without turning his head.

"If he really wanted to kill Monica and those two boys, he'd have given the Stamina Drinks to the monsters from this palace and sent them to Palm Brinks, not the monsters he brought from the Rainbow Butterfly Wood in their time."

"Do you think he's taken a liking to them, sir?"

"Yes, definitely." Gaspard narrowed his eyes. "And he had the nerve to preach to us about revenge."

Griffon opened his eyes and exhaled. "Let's see how the humans react when they open those chests."

* * *

The trio, Lin, Fabio, Mayor Need, and Morton ran into Main Street. Citizens were looking over the treasure chests, which resembled the chests from Starlight Canyon.

"Awesome." Drini stood in front of a treasure chest near the trio. He looked at them. "These must be the chests you guys were talking about, the ones you open while you go through the forests and valleys." He reached toward the chest's lock.

"Wait!" Monica said.

Max leaped toward Drini, his arms outstretched. Drini opened the chest. The chest exploded. Drini hollered; he and Max were blown backward. Other citizens opened treasure chests around the same time. Those chests exploded. They slammed into walls and the ground. They lay, motionless.

Gokuu caught Max. Max got to his feet, one eye closed and his teeth gritted. The trio, Lin, Mayor Need, Morton, and Fabio ran to the fallen citizens, each of them tending to one citizen.

Monica placed two fingers on a girl's wrist. The girl, whose name was Calonne, awakened, wailing.

"It hurts so bad." The blood on Calonne's face slowed the tears rolling down.

"It's okay," Monica said, hugging her. "I'll get you to Dr. Dell." She stood, Calonne in her arms, and turned toward the station. Dr. Dell was running onto the street. She met him.

"What happened?" Dr. Dell took Calonne.

"Someone—I'm pretty sure it was Griffon—put booby-trapped treasure chests here. They explode when opened."

Dr. Dell looked over Monica's shoulder, seeing the citizens. "Oh, no."

Patrolman Addis ran across the drawbridge while Puno left the station. Their eyes widened as they saw the fallen citizens, other citizens helping. They began to run to the unconscious citizens, check their pulses, and take them to Dr. Dell.

People from the park and residential area walked into Main Street.

"Look at all these chests," a woman in a purple hat said. She walked to a chest, other citizens doing the same. They opened the chests, and the chests exploded. Upon hearing the explosion, everyone turned to look.

"They must not have heard the explosions earlier." Max laid Drini next to Dr. Dell and then jumped over the citizens surrounding him. He ran to Patrolman Addis, who was bent over a young man. "Patrolman Addis, can you and Patrolman Puno stay by the drawbridge and tell people coming here not to open the chests? There are plenty of other people to help with the people who are already hurt."

"Sure thing. I'll get Puno." Patrolman Addis ran to Puno, who was taking Milane's sister to Dr. Dell, told him what to do, and ran to the drawbridge.

* * *

Griffon laughed. "That's just the half of it." He closed his eyes. _Monsters, leave this palace and go 10,000 years into the future, to Palm Brinks. Monsters, leave this palace…_

"It's obvious that his heart isn't in this anymore," Gaspard said. "After what happened to Alexandra, you'd expect him to kill all of them and take the Atlamillias, maybe even the Dragonball. Those explosions aren't strong enough to kill anyone."

"Maybe he's not killing them so that he can torture them more later, sir," Dr. Jaming said.

"That's true. But I've been watching him lately. His eyes soften when he sees Monica and those boys helping the monsters. He helps them with their quest. He knows those three by name and watches them almost all the time. Like you said earlier, he likes them. We'll never lose sight of our goal like he did, Jaming. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Griffon opened his eyes. He grinned. "It is done."

* * *

Golden monsters with white eyes appeared on Main Street. They ran to citizens who were carrying unconscious citizens and began to punch them, kick them, headbutt them, sending the citizens into walls. Some smashed the citizens into the ground.

"Damn." Monica laid a citizen next to Dr. Dell and then withdrew her Dusack. She ran to the nearest monster, a Gyumo, and stabbed it. The Dusack hit its flesh. Monica pushed the Dusack. It wouldn't pierce its skin. _They're the powered-up monsters from before._

The Gyumo threw the citizen, whose neck it was crushing, into the wall and then swiveled around. Monica, holding her Dusack, was thrown into the police station's wall. The Gyumo ran to her. It punched her in the stomach. Everything around Monica became black, and she fell onto the Gyumo's shoulder. The Gyumo tossed her toward Dr. Dell. She landed a few feet away from him.

The Gyumo ran toward other citizens. Gokuu ran to it and kicked it in the neck, knocking the wind out of it. The Gyumo faced Gokuu.

Gokuu threw a punch. "Rock."

The Gyumo punched Gokuu's fist. They gritted their teeth. Gokuu released his fist from the Gyumo's and shaped his hand like a pair of scissors. He poked the Gyumo's eyes. "Scissors."

The Gyumo grabbed Gokuu's wrist and threw Gokuu. Gokuu flew in the air for some seconds and then did a series of backflips. He stopped on his feet.

"I didn't even finish my combo, but that's okay. It's more fun this way." He looked around. "I'd love to fight some more, but everyone's in trouble, so I gotta finish this fast." He ran to the Gyumo and then kicked it in the stomach. The Gyumo grabbed its stomach. It threw a punch at Gokuu. Gokuu leaped backward. He ran to the Gyumo and kicked it upward. The Gyumo flew five stories into the air. He slammed both wrists together, the palms of his hands facing the Gyumo.

"Ka…"

An orb formed in the palms of Gokuu's hands.

"Me…"

The orb became larger.

"Ha…."

The orb became equal to the size of Gokuu's hands.

"Me…"

The orb's size exceeded the size of Gokuu's hands.

"Ha!" A beam protruded from the orb. Citizens watched the beam pierce the Gyumo's stomach. The Gyumo disintegrated.

Gokuu lowered his hands. "I hope I have enough energy to kill the rest of the monsters this way."

Max hit a Moler with his hammer. His hammer bounced off the Moler, and he stumbled backward. The Moler leaped toward him. He jumped sideways, and it flew past him. It turned toward him and leaped. Max stepped sideways twice. The Moler passed him.

_When I used my gun against the Dragon, _Max thought as he dodged one of the Moler's tackles, _it grabbed its head and stopped attacking me for a little while. _Max shot the flying Moler. The Moler fell to the ground and squealed, clutching its temples and shaking its head. Max continued to shoot it. _It won't disintegrate. _

Max heard creaking behind him becoming louder with every second. He looked and saw a Tore. The Tore swiped its hands. Max backflipped. He circled the Moler, shooting it, the Tore following him.

Gokuu kicked the Tore's side, denting it.

"Thanks, Gokuu," Max said.

"Uh-huh," Gokuu said. A chest close to him exploded. Gokuu was blown into another Tore, bouncing off its side and falling facedown. "B-but no one opened that chest."

The Tore behind him slashed his back.

Gokuu stood and turned around, grabbing his back. "Hey, coward, fight me head on." He began to punch the Tore.

"I didn't see anyone open that chest," Max said. A chest near him exploded. He flew backward and then slammed into the ground a few feet away. "I don't think anyone opened that chest, either." He ran toward the Moler and Tore. "The chests must be exploding on their own now. Everyone, get away from the chests!"

Patrolmen Addis and Puno led citizens away from the exploding chests. When they were close to the drawbridge, a chest near them exploded. They crashed into the drawbridge, some lying on top of each other. Fabio ran to them and began to check their pulses.

Lin carried an elderly man to Dr. Dell. She laid him down and then turned. She ran two steps and stopped. Monsters attacked the citizens, Max and Gokuu fighting them.

"Isn't there anything I can do?" Lin gripped her broom. She watched Max circle and shoot the Moler. "Master, if you're watching, please help me." She pointed her broomstick at the Tore following Max. She said a word in an ancient language. The Tore flinched. It stared at her.

Lin's grip on her broom loosened. "I guess I haven't gotten better."

The Tore dragged itself toward her. Max looked at the Tore, his eyes wide, and then shot it. The Tore stopped and then clutched its head. Max alternated between shooting the Tore and the Moler.

A hand was placed on Lin's shoulder.

"It's okay," Monica said, stepping next to her. "You did your best."

Lin smiled.

"Stay here. It looks like Gokuu can keep up with the monsters, so I'll tell him to defeat as many as he can as quickly as he can." She ran toward Gokuu, avoiding the chests remaining. Monica told Gokuu the instructions, and he nodded. She told Max instructions. Max ran away from the Moler and Tore, and Gokuu began to fight them. She and Max began to help citizens.

Lin closed her eyes and sighed. She turned to the citizens behind her. Lin pointed her broom at a woman's wound on her wrist. Her wound became enveloped in a white light, and the skin joined.

After she had laid a citizen close to Dr. Dell, Monica ran onto Main Street, avoiding chests. A chest exploded, catching her and a Pumpkinhead. Monica was blown backward. She landed on the ground, rolling and bouncing until stopping on her back. She stood. The Pumpkinhead had a few scratches on its body.

She scowled. "We have to get rid of these chests. I know this won't be good for the fish, but throwing them into the river is the safest thing to do." She ran to one and then placed each hand on one side of it. She tried to lift it, but the chest didn't budge. "Damn. It's stuck." She swung her sword onto the top of the chest. The chest did not rupture. She charged her magic fully and released it. The fireball hit the top of the chest. The fireball faded. No marks were on the chest.

The chest exploded. Monica flew in the air and then fell, sliding on the ground. She hit the back of a chest, stopping.

"I'll have to open these chests to keep them from exploding on anyone else." Monica ran to the front of the chest and then opened it. It exploded. She was blown some feet away. She dodged monsters' attacks as she ran toward a chest. She opened it. That chest exploded. Max, seeing her, began to copy her. This repeated until she came to the last chest. She opened the chest. A clown emerged, and it floated above her. A red box and a yellow box appeared in both of its hands.

* * *

"I must've missed that one," Griffon said. "Make sure that you don't make any mistakes when you fight them."

"Yes, sir," Gaspard and Dr. Jaming said in unison.

* * *

"Which shall it be?" the clown said.

"The yellow one," Monica said quickly.

"Very good." The boxes disappeared. In the yellow box's place was a Lamb's Sword. The clown took the sword and gave it to her. "Here you are." The clown and chest disappeared.

Monica stared at the sword. "I wonder if this is stronger than my Dusack." The sword's blade became red. "Huh?"

* * *

"I sense maliciousness in that sword," Griffon said. "It seems that whenever it's near blood or it's nighttime, it changes in appearance and in strength. It's near blood, and it's nighttime, making it even stronger. It appears that it wants more blood." He paused. "That's right. I couldn't take over any of those three's minds before, but now, with the aid of that sword, I may be able to." He closed his eyes and placed his hand on top of the crystal ball. Images of Palm Brinks entered his mind. He thought of the Lamb's Sword. An image of it in Monica's hand appeared. _With you, I would like to control Monica's mind._

* * *

Monica froze. She dropped her Dusack, and her eyes rolled back.

Max ran to her. "What's wrong?"

Gokuu, who was punching a Tigriff, stopped and said, "Hey, what's wrong with Monica?" The Tigriff slapped Gokuu into the wall.

* * *

"No," Monica stood across from Griffon and the Lamb's Sword in darkness, looking up at the black aura surrounding them. "I won't let you control me."

"I believe you have no choice," Griffon said. "Your pure aura is too small to counter the combined forces of mine and this sword's." He laughed as the black aura approached her. Monica tried to move her leg backward, but it was rooted. Her feet were covered in darkness.

The black aura became a mist. Her aura became a mist. Monica's mist thrust itself against the black mist. When her mist touched the black mist, the black mist engulfed it. The black mist wrapped itself around Monica's head and neck. Memories of her parents, her kingdom, her people, her kingdom's destruction, her father's murder, her travels through time, her treks through Rainbow Butterfly Wood and Starlight Canyon, her fights with monsters, Palm Brinks, Max, and Gokuu disappeared. The feeling in her body disappeared. She no longer knew who she was. She no longer had thoughts. All was black.

* * *

"I've done it," Griffon said, sitting forward in his chair. His left eye was blank.

"S-sir," Dr. Jaming said, "your eye."

Griffon looked at Dr. Jaming with his right eye. "Yes, that's so I can keep controlling Monica." He chuckled. "As long as she has that sword equipped, I can control her." He looked into his crystal ball for a few seconds. Some citizens walked to Max and Monica. "That's it. I know what to do with her, but I can't have those other humans or the monsters interfering." He closed his eye, the blank eye remaining open. _Monsters, disappear._

Gaspard and Dr. Jaming watched the monsters disintegrate. Palm Brinks' citizens looked around. Max continued to stare at Monica's eyes, saying, "Monica. Monica!"

Griffon opened his eye and stared at the crystal ball. "Good, they're all gone." _Humans, to the side._

* * *

Everyone except Max and Monica slid onto the sidewalks.

"I don't know what that was, but Monica's in trouble. I gotta help." Gokuu took a step and bumped into a barrier. "Huh? But there's no wall here."

Lin walked until the palm of her hand touched the barrier. "Whatever dragged us over here must not want us close to Max and Monica."

Gokuu slammed his shoulder into the barrier thrice. "I can't bust through it."

_Watch carefully. _The voice penetrated everyone's, excluding Max's, thoughts.

"Who was that?" a man said.

"That was Griffon," Gokuu said.

The citizens gasped and looked at each other.

"Don't worry," Cedric said. "I'm sure that if he wanted to kill us or control us, he would've done it by now."

Monica's eyes returned to normal. She put her Dusack in her pouch.

Max smiled, and his eyes lit up. "Monica, you're back."

She slashed at Max using the Lamb's Sword. Max stumbled away, fabric from his overalls floating to the ground and revealing a red line across his torso.

"Monica, what are you doing?"

She began walking toward him. Max walked backward, his mouth agape. Monica grinned from ear to ear.


	31. Assault, Part Two

**Chapter Thirty-one: Assault, Part Two**

Max stopped, as did Monica inches from him, grinning a grin that reached both ears.

"What happened to you?" Max bent backward as Monica slashed, and he fell on his rear. She swung her sword toward his neck. He rolled over. The Lamb's Sword hit the pavement. Max stood. The sword became a blur. Pieces of his overalls floated to the ground. On his torso, a red line appeared above the previous one. Monica continued to slash. Max swayed in all directions, but Monica's sword caught him with each slash.

Max backflipped twice. Monica began running to him. He turned and ran toward the square. Heat seared into his back. He yelped and hopped forward. He looked behind while rubbing out the flame. Monica charged a fireball. Max alternated between looking in front and behind, dodging the fireballs.

_Someone has to be controlling her. Griffon's the only one I know who can talk to people psychically, so it has to be him. But how did he take Monica's mind over? Griffon himself told me that our minds are too pure for him to control. _When he was near the police station, Max collided with a wall and fell on his back. He stood and laid a hand on the wall. _He must not want me to go any farther. _

Pain coursed from the top of his back to the bottom. He swiveled around to face Monica, who swung her sword toward his forehead. He moved his head, and the sword hit the barrier. He swayed, Monica following his moves, slashing his torso. He ducked and then jumped to the side. He began running to Main Street while dodging the fireballs.

_I think that sword has something to do with this. She didn't act that way with her other sword. Griffon must've used that sword to control her. If I break that sword, then maybe Griffon will be kicked out of her mind._

Citizens watched Max turn around in the middle of Main Street and stop. He held up his Cubic Hammer. Max blinked. Monica's hand enveloped his view. A fireball emerged from her hand, covering his face. He slid his hands over his face, snuffing out the flames. As he did so, Monica stabbed him, piercing a bit of skin, and then withdrew her sword. He backflipped, kicking Monica's jaw. Monica's head flew upward so that she looked at the sky.

"Sorry, Monica. I didn't mean to."

Monica glared at Max.

* * *

"Dammit, I gotta do somethin'." Gokuu thrust his shoulder against the barrier. "But this wall's still here."

Lin stepped forward and slid her hand over the barrier. "Maybe I can do something." She closed her eyes and began whispering in an ancient language. She spoke one word louder than she had the others as she opened her eyes. Her hand remained on the barrier.

Lin looked down. _I just can't live up to Crest. _She turned around to face the citizens. "I'm sorry, everyone. My magic, it isn't powerful enough to get rid of this barrier."

"Griffon did put it up," Erik said. "I'm sure his magic is a lot stronger than even Crest's."

"Nyoi-bo, extend!"

Everyone's attention turned to Gokuu's Nyoi-bo hitting the barrier.

Gokuu growled. "Even that can't get through?"

* * *

_Focus on her sword, _Max thought as Monica glared at him. _The way she moves it, slashes at me, that should let me figure out her attack patterns._

Monica began to slash upward, downward, diagonally. Lines appeared in the sword's wake, and blood dripped from Max's torso.

_It looks like she uses the same pattern. If I can watch her just a bit more, I'll be able to break that sword._

Max flinched at the cuts Monica continued to create.

"What's he doing?" Erik said.

"Maybe he's cookin' a little somethin' up," Donny said. "He wouldn't just stand there'n take that."

Gerald clasped his hands behind his back. "She must be too fast for him. He's letting her hit him so he can figure out her attack patterns and, most likely, break her sword."

Claire's hands were pressed against the barrier, and she bit her lip. Tears rolled into her mouth from the crack between her lips.

_Got it! _Max raised his hammer. Monica glanced at the hammer and then continued her slash. When the sword was inches away from his chest, Max swung his hammer toward the sword. His hammer hit a barrier around the sword and bounced off, landing some feet away. Monica's slash continued, making a deep cut deeper. Max galloped backward and grabbed his hammer, never taking his eyes off Monica.

_Griffon must not want me to break her sword. Then, how do I get him out of there? Maybe knocking her out would help. But I don't want to hurt her._

Monica ran toward him, launching fireballs. He dodged them.

_I have to do it. Or if Monica's fighting Griffon inside her consciousness, then I can wait until she gets him out of there. But that sword and Griffon's evilness combined may be too much for her to handle._

When Monica was a little ways away from him, Max sidestepped.

_That's it, my Question Shooter._ He shot at her. Monica dodged the beams as she ran toward him. He raised his hammer above his head. Monica's eyes didn't leave his face. When Monica was a few feet away from him, Max swung his hammer diagonally. Monica stopped, and the hammer hit air. Max shot. The beam grazed her arm.

* * *

Griffon stood inside Monica's mind, the Lamb's Sword floating next to him. His and the sword's aura had spread out so that it encompassed her mind. He smirked. "That won't work. I'm too powerful for that gun's interrogation to work on me, and this sword does not question its actions. It does everything with certainty, like me."

Griffon's voice projected into the garden where Gaspard and Dr. Jaming bowed.

"He's lying to himself," Gaspard said. "I don't think he was sure about doing this in the first place. That sword must be repelling the gun's questions."

* * *

Monica stared at Max, grinning. Max stepped back.

_Guess I'll have to knock her out. One hit with my hammer, and she should be down, and Griffon should come out._

Monica became a blur. Max grunted. She had cut across his shins. She continued her combinations.

_When I see a chance, I'll swing. I can't swing hard, though._

He began to step around her. She followed his moves, slashing all the while. Max sprinted backward. Monica followed him, releasing fireballs. Max swayed, allowing the fireballs past him.

As she was charging a fireball, Max strode forward. He swung at her head.

"Max, wait!"

Max stopped, his hammer inches from her forehead, his eyes widened. He lowered his hammer. Monica stared into his eyes.

"What are you doing? Why are you attacking me?"

"Y-you're back."

"I'm back? What happened to me?"

"You were—"

Monica stabbed his leg. "You're too naïve."

Max stepped back, forcing the sword out of his leg. He winced.

He shot at her. She dodged the beams. He dropped his hammer and stepped toward her, reaching for her sword. Monica slashed his hand. Max continued to reach for it. He grabbed it. He pulled. She pulled.

Monica tugged hard. Max flipped over her and landed on his back. Monica stabbed his neck, letting the sword pierce a few inches. She withdrew the sword and then slashed. Max rolled over and scrambled onto his feet. He pivoted, ran to his hammer, and picked it up. He jumped toward her, his hammer raised, shooting with his gun, Monica dodging the beams. When he was close, he slowly swung his hammer toward her head. Monica put her sword in front of her head, a beam hitting her stomach. The hammer bounced off. Max fell on top of her while keeping his grip on his hammer, the sword burying itself into his chest. Monica stabbed him repeatedly. Max kept his eyes open and swung his hammer. The hammer hit her forehead.

* * *

Monica's mind dimmed, making Griffon unable to see himself.

"She's losing consciousness." Griffon turned to the sword. The sword disappeared. "Max must've broken it."

Monica appeared across from him, her pure aura twice the size of his evil aura. "Get out."

The pure aura charged toward the evil aura, piercing through it. It wrapped around Griffon, suffocating him. He and his evil aura faded.

"I probably could've killed him if he had stayed in here a little longer." She fell on her knees, then fell on the ground, her pure aura surrounding her, and fell asleep.

* * *

Monica lay on her face in front of him. Max fell down next to her, his head parallel to her feet, blood pooling around him. Claire, whose hands were on the barrier, stumbled forward.

"It disappeared." Claire ran to Max and Monica, the rest of the citizens following. She bent beside Max.

Dr. Dell bent next to her and laid Max on his back. The cuts on his torso and leg gushed blood. Dr. Dell took out bandages and wrapped them around his torso and leg. "This will have to do until I can get him back to my office."

"What about the rest of the people?" Gokuu said.

"We'll take care of them," Patrolman Addis said as Puno ran to the unconscious citizens on the sidewalk in front of them.

"Yeah, the rest of us who didn't get hurt'll help," Borneo said.

"I'll carry you and him back to your place," Gokuu said. "Just gimme directions." He hoisted Max and Dr. Dell above his head, Max in one arm, Dr. Dell in the other, and ran, leaving a trail of dust.

Healthy citizens began to bandage citizens and rub medicine on their wounds, and Lin casted healing spells. Their endeavors would last until the morning.

* * *

Griffon's left iris appeared. "She forced me out." He stared into the crystal ball.

_I need to talk to you. Alone._

Griffon's eyes widened for a moment. "I'm going to bed." He hopped off the throne and walked past Gaspard and Dr. Jaming, who watched him, and left the garden. He climbed the stairs to his room and fell onto the bed, his arms outstretched. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

"You fool!" A hand emerged from the black being, which was quadruple Sirus's size, and swiped, knocking Sirus away. As he flew through the darkness, the Dark Element said, "You could've killed them all. Why didn't you do it exactly like I said?"

"I-I want to torture them as much as possible first," Sirus said through gritted teeth, his eyes closed. His back hit the Dark Element's hand, ending his flight.

"You lie."

There was silence for a few seconds. Sirus's eyes remained closed as he lay in the Dark Element's hand, and he trembled.

Sirus shook his head. "I don't want to kill them. Not yet."

"No. Tell the truth."

Sirus gulped. "I-I don't want to kill them. I like them a little for what they did in Starlight Canyon. They help everyone, monsters and humans."

The Dark Element slammed Sirus onto the black ground. It twisted its hand back and forth, grinding him. Sirus hollered.

"You've lost sight. When you first agreed to work with me, you were hell-bent on destroying them. I'll take you over completely if you don't kill them soon. Do you understand?"

Sirus's voice was muffled. The Dark Element pinched Sirus's temples and then lifted him to its face.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Open your eyes."

Sirus half-opened his eyes. "Yes."

"You've been whining ever since those three defeated the Dragons. 'Don't power those monsters up too much. Make sure Gokuu can defeat them. Those explosions can't kill anyone.' You don't want to do this, you don't want to do that." It roared in Sirus' face, blowing his ears back.

"I'm sorry." Sirus projected his voice to make it heard above the roar. "I'm trying to make sure my plan doesn't fail. Everything needs to be done one step at a time so that these humans can be wiped out forever."

The Dark Element stopped roaring. "You're saying that in part to protect the humans, but also so that the humans can be exterminated. It seems as though you're torn on whether to destroy the humans or spare their lives. Even after Alexandra, you still question your actions."

At Alexandra's name, Sirus' eyes jutted open. His eyes narrowed, and they filled with tears. He wiped his eyes using his arm. "Yes, I've lost sight. Humans must be wiped out."


	32. Aftermath

**Chapter Thirty-two: Aftermath**

Max and Monica lay on separate examination tables. Dr. Dell rubbed medicine on Max's wounds.

Gokuu stood over Max, staring at him. "How's he lookin'?"

Dr. Dell, standing on the other side of the examination table, said, "He'll be alright. He lost a lot of blood, but I'm applying my special medicine. It'll almost instantly stop the bleeding."

Gokuu turned toward the door as it opened. Claire and Donny entered.

"We, uh, we're just leavin' the others for a bit to see how Max's doin'," Donny said. "We'll get back out there in a bit."

Claire half-walked, half-ran to Max. Her eyes moved up and down him slowly. They rested upon Dr. Dell's hand rubbing the medicine on his leg. Dr. Dell removed his hand. A white light enveloped the wound and then disappeared. The skin had joined, and a small cut remained.

Gokuu's mouth became an "O" shape. "Wow."

"If I keep applying this, Max should wake up soon." Dr. Dell began to rub a cut on his stomach.

Donny placed his hands on his hips. "Well, then, I think everything's okay here. We should start helpin' again, Claire."

Claire watched Dr. Dell rub the medicine on Max. She looked at Max's face.

"Don't think of stayin' here. Those people out there really need our help."

"O-okay." She followed Donny toward the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Monica sit up, and she stopped, as did Donny.

"What happened?" Monica opened her eyes. She blinked twice. "That's right, Max, I, Griffon—" She searched the room for Max. She saw him, and her expression softened.

Gokuu grinned. "Hey, Monica, you're up. How're you feelin'?"

"I feel alright. But my head hurts pretty badly."

"Max hit you on the head with his hammer. That's how he knocked you out."

"So that's what made me lose consciousness. Griffon must've lost a bit of his hold on me because I woke up inside my mind and got him out of there. My pure aura attacked his pure aura, and he got out. Wait, he didn't have a pure aura." As if saying, "No," Monica shook her hands in front of her. "Um, don't listen to me. I feel a little out of it."

"That must be a result of the concussion Max gave you," Dr. Dell said.

"And well-deserved." Claire pointed to Max's torso. "You did that to him."

Monica glared at her. "I did not. Griffon and a sword took over my mind. They were the ones fighting."

"But you could've kept them from doing that, right? If they tried to control me, I definitely wouldn't let them, especially if they wanted me to hurt Max."

Monica's eyebrows arched further downward. "That's easier said than done. Have you ever had anything try to control you before?"

"No, but—"

"Then don't tell me what I could've done. I did everything in my power to keep them from controlling me, but it still—"

"That's enough!"

Everyone looked at Dr. Dell.

"You'll make Max worse if you keep fighting. See, he's already about to wake up."

Everyone turned their attention to Max. His arms and legs twitched.

"If he wakes up now, he'll feel the pain he's in." He looked at Monica and then at Claire. "I think it's time you and Donny leave."

"Yeah, I bet they're wonderin' where we're at," Donny said. "Let's go, Claire."

Claire turned toward the door, glaring at Monica. She followed Donny out.

Monica sighed, closed her eyes, and lay down. Max stopped twitching.

* * *

After Dr. Dell finished applying medicine to all of Max's wounds and wrapping bandages around Max's leg and torso, Max opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around the room until he saw Monica.

"Monica, are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that. Griffon's the one who made me do that to you."

"In front of everyone, too," Gokuu said.

Monica's eyes widened. "What?"

"He trapped us all with this wall right in front of you guys. Almost everyone saw the fight."

Monica placed her hand on her throbbing forehead. "Oh, boy. Max, I'm really sorry. I couldn't get Griffon out of my head. He and that sword were too powerful."

Max smiled. "It's not your fault." He looked out the window. "Hopefully, nothing like this happens ever again."

* * *

For the next two days, citizens visited Max and Monica between caring for the injured. When Claire arrived, she did not speak to Monica, and Monica did not speak to her. Dr. Dell continued to apply medicine to Max's wounds. He also gave Monica pills to ease her headaches. Then, with Dr. Dell's approval, Max, his wounds healed, and Monica left the clinic. Gokuu and Lin awaited them outside.

"Now that we're alright, we need to help the others." Max walked toward Main Street, Monica, Gokuu, and Lin beside him. He eyed Lin. "How's everyone been?"

"Physically, okay. Mentally…" Lin shook her head. "Not okay. Drini's been shaking nonstop ever since he woke up. Calonne breaks into sobs randomly and, sometimes, she starts to scream. Others are paranoid now. They keep looking over their shoulders and watching others carefully, almost as if they're examining them."

Max balled his hands and gritted his teeth as she spoke.

"Damn him," Monica said.

"I think the mayor said there would be a meeting in the station today," Lin said. "That's where most of the injured are being kept."

Upon their arrival at the station, a crowd of citizens standing next to the Blackstone One turned around to look at them. The citizens, some wrapped in bandages, clapped as the trio and Lin walked down the stairs toward them. The crowd parted, leaving a walkway. The trio and Lin stood in the front of them.

Mayor Need held a microphone to his mouth. "Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning," the crowd said.

"I'm sure most of you have witnessed what happened two days ago. Everyone has been putting forth their best efforts to help, whether they be for the destruction or the injuries others have suffered, and I commend you all for that. People have been rapidly recovering. I'm sure that in a week's time, everyone's injuries will be completely healed, and in at least a month, the destruction will be fixed.

"I know that this has had some, um, mental effects on others, specifically the children. Dr. Dell is also a therapist, and he has agreed to help them rise above their trauma."

A man behind Gokuu said, "Mayor Need, what're you gonna to keep this from happening again?"

Mayor Need scratched his head. "W-well, Griffon is a supernatural being. As evidenced earlier, he can, it seems, will things to come to this era." His eyes darted from one face to the next until settling on the wall. "Er, it looks impossible to prevent him from doing that and mind-controlling others."

The crowd murmured and looked at each other.

"We will think of something, though. Don't worry about that."

"Can you please let me speak for a moment?" Monica said.

"Hm? Oh, yes, of course."

Monica turned around so that she faced everyone. "I'm sure everyone's minds here are pure. Griffon told Max that he can't control him because his evilness isn't large enough to corrupt his pureness. He controlled me with the help of an evil sword I got from a treasure chest." She smiled. "We don't have anything to worry about. At least, when it comes to mind-control." She turned around.

"Alright, that solves one of our problems," the man said, "but what about the 'willing things to this era'?"

"Unfortunately, I don't think we can do anything about that until Griffon is defeated," Mayor Need said. "Max, how long do you think it'll take you to get to Griffon?"

"I don't know. We've been working on Balance Valley longer than I thought it would take." Max rubbed his chin and looked at the floor. "I can't think of anything to prevent Griffon from moving things to this era, either."

Citizens gasped, whispered to each other.

"But he didn't kill anyone, right?" Monica said.

Citizens shook their heads and said, "No."

"I think he did that on purpose. This could be part of some master plan. Or, he's becoming fond of humans. He's been watching us lately, and he's seen how kindly we've been treating the monsters, even though the monsters attack us." Monica explained how she, Max, and Gokuu dethroned the Dragons and allowed the monsters in Starlight Canyon to no longer live in fear.

"Maybe we don't have anything to worry about." Mayor Need leaned toward Monica. "Thank you."

"It's nothing. I used to do this kind of thing all the time in my kingdom."

Mayor Need straightened up. "That concludes this meeting. Thank you for your attendance."

"Hey, what about Max and Monica's fight?" someone said.

"Yeah, what happened there?"

The crowd began to yell about Max and Monica's fight. Max and Monica looked at each other. They nodded. They turned around to face the crowd, and the crowd grew silent. Monica explained how Griffon and the Lamb's Sword mind-controlled her. Max talked about his thoughts during the fight.

When they finished, the crowd remained quiet for a few seconds and then applauded. Max inhaled deeply and then exhaled.

The crowd began to disperse. Citizens asked Max and Monica about their wounds, especially Max's. Once they stopped approaching them, the trio and Lin walked to the injured. Most of them lay on their backs. Some sat against the wall or the columns. They first saw Drini and Calonne.

Drini sat up, bending his knees and hugging them, his body trembling. "Hey, guys." He glanced at his knees and then removed his arms from them, placing the palms of his hands on the floor. He blushed lightly. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. If you guys go through this kind of thing almost every day, then I can handle it, too." He inclined his head toward the floor, and his eyes became half-lidded.

Calonne whimpered. Monica bent next to her and embraced her, rubbing her back.

* * *

For the next two weeks, Max and Monica spent half of each day in bed and the other half seeing to the injured. While walking outside, they saw many citizens looking over their shoulders, shaking, and their fingers in their mouths.

"My people did that a lot, too, after Griffon's attack," Monica had said. "They weren't as much of a wreck as these people are, though. They were a bit more prepared than the people here were. After being so peaceful and carefree for so long, such a brutal attack would have this effect on the people here."

Max also constructed the Ridepod, equipping it with a shield kit, Core III, voice unit, and samurai body parts. Once he finished building, he sat next to the turned-off Ridepod, his chin resting in his hand, thinking about how to create a strong mind for the Ridepod. He consulted Cedric, Borneo, and Erik, but they could not think of a way to do so. Max sighed.

_Griffon might control the Ridepod again._

When two weeks passed, Monica told Max, "We should leave. We need to restore the world as quickly as possible."

"But what about everyone here? They still need help."

"I know. We can come back every once in a while to see how they're doing, but we can't stay here any longer. Who knows how long it'll take for everyone to recover, or if they'll recover at all? We can't take any risks."

In the station, Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Lin announced their leave before all of Palm Brinks. At the crowd's groan, they explained their reasons. The crowd applauded them as Max, Monica, and Lin entered the train. They also parted, giving Gokuu a walkway. Gokuu ran between the halves. The station's door closed, and the train departed.


	33. The Sage of the Stars

**Chapter Thirty-three: The Sage of the Stars**

Monica stumbled to the right. _This sword's a little heavy. It wasn't before._

Max grabbed her forearm, pulling her upright. "Monica, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You haven't been walking straight since your fight with Max," Lin said. "Some of the things you've said haven't made sense, either."

Max's eyes widened. "Uh-oh."

"What's that?" Monica said.

"Maybe you're still suffering from that concussion I gave you." His voice cracked toward the end of the sentence. "I must've hit you harder than I thought."

"Whatever, it's fine."

The four stopped in front of the stairs leading to the lighthouse.

Monica eyed Lin. "Are you ready?"

Lin nodded. "Yes."

Monica reached inside her pouch, pulled out the Starglass, and set it on the ground. It began to glow. The light emanating from it enveloped the four's visions, and they shielded their eyes with their arms. When the light faded, they uncovered their eyes.

The past Lin, wearing a black dress, and Crest stood on the edge of the lighthouse, looking toward the sea.

The future Lin smiled. "I remember this. We had just finished checking on the Moon Crystal, and Master Crest said that it would one day be able to illuminate the whole planet."

Monica's expression softened. "I'm sure it will one day."

A blue time gate appeared in front of the lighthouse. A battleship emerged.

Monica balled her hands. "Gaspard…! I should've known he was behind all this."

"In that case, I think it's time we get up there," Max said.

"Lin, you stay here. If you go up there, and your past self sees you, well, I'm not sure exactly what will happen, but it won't be good. Time might…" Monica shook her head. "Yeah, I'm not sure. Max, Gokuu, let's go."

The trio ran up the stairs. A cannon aimed itself at the bottom of the lighthouse and fired three cannonballs.

"Guys, look." Gokuu pointed at the cannon.

Monica watched the cannonballs hit the lighthouse. "They must be trying to destroy the Moon Crystal."

Parts of the lighthouse erupted into flame, including the area around the door, which Max opened. The trio ran inside and onto the elevator. Monica pressed the "up" button. The elevator began moving up.

After a few minutes, Gokuu said, "Why is this so slow?"

Monica gritted her teeth. "We can't afford to wait. Gokuu, call Kintoun."

Gokuu did so.

On the lighthouse, Crest lay on top of Lin, shielding her from the flames and cannonballs. They stood and saw Kintoun fly into the lighthouse's elevator.

Lin stepped slightly behind Crest, holding his arm. "What was that?"

Crest shrugged. "I have no idea."

Kintoun flew out, carrying Max and Monica. A moment later, Gokuu climbed out of the elevator. Kintoun stopped near the ground, and Max and Monica hopped off.

"Thanks, Kintoun." Max waved after Kintoun as it flew away.

Crest's body tensed. "Wh-who are you?"

Monica walked past him. "We'll explain later." She stood at the edge of the lighthouse, looking for Gaspard on the battleship. She saw him. "There he is. I'm guessing his mission is to destroy the Moon Crystal, so he won't leave until he does. He won't get away this time." She backed up a few feet and then ran toward the battleship. She leaped.

Max reached toward her. "Monica, wait! Your concussion!"

Monica staggered upon her landing on the battleship. Max slowly let his arm fall to his side. He bit his lower lip.

_If she loses, it'll be because of me._

"Are you all working with them?" Crest pointed at the battleship.

"No," Max said. "We're here to save the Moon Crystal. We'll explain how we got here and everything later."

Evil Flames emerged from the larger flames surrounding the lighthouse and landed close to where Crest and Lin stood. Lin switched sides, hiding behind Crest so that she did not face the flames. She and Crest took a few steps back.

Crest saw the cannon aim at the Moon Crystal. "They're going to attack the crystal directly now. Lin, stay here." He looked at Max and Gokuu. "One of you, both of you, I don't care, protect her from the flames."

Lin tightened her grip on Crest's arm. "Where are you going?"

"To use the Moon Crystal."

"Master, no. When you do that, it uses your own energy."

Crest smiled. "One thing you have to understand about being a sage is that we always put our lives first to protect others. Always."

Gokuu stepped beside Crest. "I'll help you. I can keep those guys from hitting the crystal. I'll throw those cannonballs right back at 'em."

"Gokuu, Monica's on there," Max said. "If the battleship goes down, she will, too."

"Monica can just jump back up here. And if she can't, then Kintoun'll get her."

Crest looked down at Gokuu. "Can you throw those cannonballs? I mean, is that even possible?"

"Of course it is."

"Okay. I'll put up a shield. If you miss a cannonball, the shield will deflect it instead."

"You can't do that, Master. Every time something hits that shield, it's like it hits you, too."

Crest ruffled Lin's hair. "Don't worry. That red-haired girl's probably going to stop those people from using the cannon." He gestured toward Max. "This young man will protect you from the flames. And Gokuu, I believe that's his name, will defend the crystal. I'll be back soon."

Crest leaped onto one of the prongs connecting to the crystal. Gokuu followed. Crest jumped onto one of the beacons before the crystal. Gokuu landed in front of him.

On the lighthouse's surface, Max said, "Head towards the center."

"Okay." Lin ran onto the elevator, which had stopped in the middle.

The Evil Flames approached. Max ran to one and smashed it with his hammer. It disintegrated. _These must be like monsters. _

Lin faced the flames closest to her, and Max ran to those flames, smashing them and making them disintegrate. After killing an Evil Flame, he would look at the battleship and breathe a sigh a relief when he saw Monica standing. Evil Flames continuously fell onto the lighthouse, keeping him busy.

The cannon on the battleship fired. Gokuu leaped toward the cannonball, spreading his arms apart. He caught it, the cannonball engulfing his body, and then threw it toward the battleship's hull.

* * *

"Well, well, we have a visitor. Jaming, why don't you go inside?" Gaspard did not remove his eyes from Monica's eyes.

"Yes, sir." Dr. Jaming teleported off the deck.

Monica tightened her grip on the Dusack. She trembled. "Remember me, Monica Raybrandt? You got away from me in the forest, but you won't this time."

"Nervous, princess? You're shaking in your boots."

She scowled. "What's it to you? You don't care. After all, you tore my kingdom to bits and murdered my father."

"No, no, no. I fought your father fairly. He simply wasn't skilled enough to defeat me."

"In a fair fight, he never would've lost. He trained me myself. He'd been training me ever since I was little. He never would've lost."

Gaspard raised an eyebrow. "I fought your father when he was at his best, as I hope you are now." He withdrew his sword, a long, red, curved blade. _Something seems to be the matter with her, though._

Monica walked toward Gaspard, her steps uneven. She raised her sword, as did Gaspard. She slashed, and Gaspard parried. Monica's sword-wielding arm remained in the air for a few seconds, and then she gripped it with both hands. Gaspard stepped toward her so that he stood inches away. She turned sideways, dodging his slash. The sun's glare caused her to flinch. Pain coursed through her stomach.

"The sun getting in your eye, princess? It's a little cloudy, mind you."

Monica slashed horizontally at Gaspard's legs. Gaspard leaped backward, and she ran toward him. She thrust her sword at his stomach. Gaspard leaned back, the sword missing. One horizontal slash, one vertical slash. Monica backflipped, dodging both. Gaspard flipped over her. As she swiveled around, she fell, catching herself with her free hand. She quickly stood and gripped her sword with both hands.

"You don't usually fight with this clumsiness, at least from what I've seen of you."

"You've been watching me?"

"Of course. All three of you. Now four, with that wizard's apprentice with you. We have to be able to see what you're doing to plan accordingly. Anyone would do the same."

"Never mind. Let's continue."

Gaspard flipped and landed behind her. She whirled around, swinging her sword as she did so. Gaspard leaned sideways, the sword missing him by inches. While he leaned, he stabbed under the Dusack, piercing part of her stomach. Monica grunted. She looked down. Blood surfaced and then poured down her clothes.

_Looks like a little blood. _

Gaspard swung his sword. Monica swung hers. Their swords clashed, and they remained for a few seconds, sparks flying. Gaspard jumped backward, and Monica backflipped. Gaspard jumped toward her, his sword raised above his head. Monica began to jump backward, but she tripped over her own feet and began to fall. Gaspard's sword caught her forehead, leaving a vertical cut above her brow. She fell on her rear. Blood seeped into her right eye, and she closed it.

Monica stood. Gaspard disappeared from her view. Pain coursed through her side. She turned to the right, facing him. He disappeared once more. He tore open her right side from her armpit to her waist, deepening the cut already there. Monica's vision dimmed. She pivoted. The sun reflected off the Moon Crystal, causing a glare. She closed her left eye. Gaspard cut downward on her stomach.

The world around Monica spun. She saw three Gaspards. She forced her bloodied eye open and then closed it when more blood rolled into it. She staggered as her vision became darker.

"Damn…" She let her Dusack point away from her. It slashed vertically toward Gaspard as she fell on her knees and then facedown.

Gaspard bent onto one knee. He lifted one of her arms and then let it fall. "I won't kill you. You obviously weren't fighting at your best. But, to please Emperor Griffon, I will take you with us."

The battleship rocked, and Gaspard almost fell. Dr. Jaming teleported next to him.

"Sir, it seems one of those boys is throwing our cannonballs back at us."

"Then send two at a time. He can't possibly be able to block both of them."

"Yes, sir." Dr. Jaming teleported below deck.

* * *

Two cannonballs flew toward the Moon Crystal.

"Looks like they're gettin' serious now." Gokuu jumped toward one of the cannonballs. He spread out his arms and caught it. He thrust it toward the battleship's hull. He turned. The remaining cannonball hit the Moon Crystal's shield. Blood seeped from the corner of Crest's mouth.

"Damn it, I was too slow." Gokuu landed on the beacon in front of Crest. "Sorry 'bout that."

"If they keep doing that, the Moon Crystal is done for."

"No, it's not. I'll go faster next time." He looked at the cannon. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Monica laying down, Gaspard bent next to her. "Monica's down. That bad guy musta beat her. I gotta get down there. Sorry, but I'll get Monica and then come right back."

"It looks like that cannon needs to charge for a little while after it fires. Hurry back."

"I will." Gokuu jumped onto the battleship's deck. Gaspard looked up at him.

"Another visitor? We're becoming popular."

"Did you kill Monica?"

Gaspard stood. "No. When I'm not on assassinating missions, I like to defeat people at their best. She was not."

"Griffon didn't ask you to kill her?"

"No. At least, not yet. He never gave me orders on what to do with her if something like this happened."

"Wait a minute. I've been tricked by guys like you before, and I'm not letting you trick me this time."

Gaspard narrowed his eyes. "This is not a trick, boy. Go ahead, check her pulse if you don't believe me."

Gokuu walked to Monica and lifted her wrist. He put two fingers to it. A beat gently thrust itself against his fingers. He released her wrist and stood. "I feel it. You did leave her alive."

"Be warned. If Griffon gives me the orders, I will kill her."

"I'll be taking her back, then." Gokuu picked her up.

"No, you don't. She stays."

"And what're you gonna do about it? Fight me?"

_He could knock me out in one hit. Perhaps I can play some tricks on him. _Gaspard smirked."Yes, I'll fight you."

"Okay." Gokuu laid Monica on her back. "I wanna have a fair fight. You have a weapon, so I'll use mine." He pulled out his Nyoi-bo.

Gaspard chuckled. "You think that stick will be able to do anything to my sword? Just fight normally, boy."

Gokuu sheathed his Nyoi-bo. "If you say so. Get ready, then." He disappeared. He reappeared in front of Gaspard and punched his gut. Gaspard doubled over.

"I should've known that would happen," Gaspard said, his voice hoarse.

"Then you'll give her back?"

Gaspard clutched his stomach and coughed. "I guess today wasn't my day. She's yours."

Gokuu felt something protrude from his backside. He looked over his shoulder. His tail waved. "Hey, my tail is back."

Gaspard's eyes widened. _"Tail?"_

He shifted his weight from side to side. "Heh, no wonder I feel kinda more balanced." He looked at Gaspard. "Okay, I'll be taking…" He saw the Moon Crystal behind Gaspard. He froze, and his smile diminished. His eyes lost their color.

After some seconds, Gaspard said, "What's wrong with you, boy?"

Gokuu became larger, his clothes ripping off. Hair erupted from his body, and his tail became bushier. His eyes changed from brown to red. His teeth sharpened.

_He'll break the ship. _Gaspard ran to Gokuu and pushed him off the battleship. As he fell, he grew to his full size. He landed in the sea, dumping torrents of water onto the battleship and the lighthouse, dowsing the lighthouse's fire.

Crest landed before Max and Lin. "What happened to him? Were you planning on using his monster form to destroy the Moon Crystal?"

"No, this happened by accident," Max said as Lin backed away from Gokuu, bumping into the ledge farthest from him. "Gokuu's tail must've grown back."

Crest's eyebrows arched upward. "Tail?"

"That's right. I think Gokuu's part monster, so that's why he has a tail. He turns into a monster whenever he sees the full moon, or something resembling a full moon."

Gokuu rose to his full height. He smashed his foot into the hill on which the lighthouse stood, creating a crater. He drew back his hand and made a fist pointed toward the battleship.

Dr. Jaming teleported onto the deck. "S-s-sir, that boy, wh-what shall I do?"

"Use the cannon on him. Hurry."

Dr. Jaming teleported below deck, aimed the cannon at him, and fired. Gokuu began his punch. The cannonball hit Gokuu's fist, and Gokuu's arm reared back. Gokuu roared and shook his hand, smoke emanating from it. He reached toward the battleship.

Dr. Jaming teleported next to Gaspard, shaking. "S-s-sir—"

"Take us back!"

Dr. Jaming pointed the palm of his hand toward the sun, as did Gaspard. They concentrated their energy until a blue time gate slightly larger than the battleship appeared. Dr. Jaming teleported below deck and moved the battleship into the time gate. The time gate disappeared.

Gokuu, still reaching, stumbled forward. He roared and beat his chest.

Max stared at the spot where the battleship disappeared. "Monica was still on there."

"So, what can we do to turn him back into a human?"

Max continued to stare.

"Hey!"

Max blinked, eyeing Crest. "S-sorry. We need to cut his tail off. Do any of you have anything sharp I can use, or any spells that can cut things?"

"No," Crest said as Lin shook her head.

Max frowned more. "I'll think of something. Crest, he might try to destroy the Moon Crystal."

"Right." Crest jumped in front of the Moon Crystal.

Max ran to the lighthouse's edge and then leaped. He landed on Gokuu's arm. He dug his nails into Gokuu's skin, and Gokuu yelped. He began climbing to Gokuu's shoulder. Gokuu slapped Max's body. Max's vision dimmed.

Crest pointed his staff at Gokuu. He said a sentence in an ancient language. A barrage of fireballs emerged from the staff, all pelting Gokuu. Gokuu looked sharply at Crest. He threw a punch toward him. Crest glanced at the Moon Crystal behind him. He outstretched his arms.

Max reached Gokuu's shoulder and jumped onto the base of his tail. He looked at his weapons. He ran his finger across the Cubic Hammer's edge. He winced. Blood dripped from his finger.

Gokuu punched Crest. His punch continued, Crest on his fist, until hitting the barrier. Gokuu roared and drew back his hand, fur falling off his knuckles and into the sea.

Crest slid down the barrier, onto the beacon. He smiled. His ribs, shattered; both lungs, crushed; arms immobile; head, throbbing. He dropped his staff, and it fell into the sea. He inhaled, but did not exhale. He closed his eyes, and the color drained from his body. He leaned backward. He fell toward the lighthouse's surface upside-down.

Lin watched her master fall, her mouth agape. Tears filled her eyes. "M-Master. Master."

Crest collapsed to the ground in a heap. Lin ran to him and fell onto both knees. She lifted his arms, his legs, shook him, punched him. "Master!" She wailed. Her cries echoed so that monsters far from the lighthouse, Rams, Masked Tribesmen, Smiling Fairies, turned toward the noise, some covering their ears.

Lin fell on top of Crest. She buried her head into his chest, and her cries became muffled. She pounded her fists against the ground.

Max cut Gokuu's tail slowly using the edge of his hammer. Gokuu looked at the tail, saw Max, and reached toward him. His hand could not reach Max, and he smashed his tail into the side of the lighthouse, pieces of it crumbling and bouncing on the ground. Max continued to cut.

Gokuu slammed his tail into the sea, dunking Max underwater. Max gasped for air while continuing to cut. Gokuu pulled Max above the surface. Max took a deep breath. He cut faster.

Gokuu hit his tail against his back, Max taking the brunt of the hit. Max hollered, continuing to cut. The tail fell off, taking Max with it. Max closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The future Lin alternated between looking at her past self cry, Gokuu decrease in size, becoming a boy, and Max fall into the sea with the giant tail. She jumped into the sea and swam to Max and Gokuu. Gokuu sunk, and Max held onto the floating tail. She dove underwater and then grabbed Gokuu, slung his arm over her shoulder, and surfaced. She hung both his arms over the tail. She uttered a sentence in an ancient language, and the tail levitated. With her broom, she pointed at the shore. The tail, Max and Gokuu hanging onto it, floated to shore. The tail slowly lay on the ground.

Lin swam to shore. She breathed into Max's mouth until Max opened his eyes. She moved to Gokuu and breathed into his mouth until he opened his eyes. She explained what happened while Gokuu clothed himself in another uniform Max invented.

"I killed Crest?" Gokuu said when she finished.

Lin nodded.

Gokuu looked at the wailing Lin on the lighthouse, his mouth parted. He stood. "I'm gonna say sorry to her. I'll tell her that I'll revive him with the Dragonballs." He jumped onto the lighthouse. The past Lin lifted her head, glaring at him.

"Hey, I'm sorry I killed Crest. I didn't mean to. When I see the full moon with my tail, I turn into this ape. I don't remember what happens or what I do when that happens."

"You're saying that you have no control over your body?"

"Uh-huh."

"That doesn't change the fact that you killed Crest." She took Crest in her arms and embraced him. She closed her eyes.

"I know I did that, but I'll make it up to you. There are these things called Dragonballs that, when all seven are gathered, you can make a wish, and that wish can be anything. So I'm gonna get all seven and wish that Crest was alive."

Lin's eyes widened. "Really? You can do that?"

Gokuu grinned. "Yep. I'll definitely get 'em for you as soon as I can."

Lin wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you." She looked at Crest. Gokuu stared at her for a few seconds. She did not move.

He jumped in front of the lighthouse, where Max and the future Lin stood.

The past Lin looked to the sky. "Master, until he revives you, I promise that I will become the best sage, a legendary sage. Sacrifices, everything that comes with being a sage, I will do. I know that you'll watch me, and please watch him, and let him complete his journey successfully."

"Will you really revive Crest for me?" the future Lin said.

"Yeah. I just told you that up there."

Lin looked at the stars appearing in the sky.

Max clenched his fists, and he stared at the ground. "Monica." _It was my fault. If I hadn't hit her so hard before, she'd still be here. Griffon has her now, and there's no telling what his plans for her are._

"How're we gonna get her back?"

"Dunno."

"Maybe those funny-lookin' guys at Starlight Temple could do somethin'."

"Maybe. Let's go."

* * *

Upon returning to the present, Max and Lin rode Barga and the condor respectively to Lin's house while Gokuu ran.

Inside the house, Argo snored, a bubble growing and contracting with his body. It popped when Max knocked, and Argo opened his eyes, a small scream escaping his lips. He breathed deeply for a few seconds. "Yes, come in."

The door opened. Max, Gokuu, and Lin entered.

Argo pointed his wings upward. "Lin, you're back. How did everything go?"

Lin shook her head.

Argo's body sunk, and he lowered his wings. "I'm sorry."

"But Gokuu said he'll revive Crest for me using Dragonballs. When all seven are together, you can make a wish, and that'll be his."

Argo's beak came the closest to a smile that it could. "Thank you, Gokuu."

"Then, I'll be leaving."

Argo's eyes snapped toward Lin. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to travel. I won't come back until I become the best sage I can."

"Well, just hurry and come home, Lin."

Lin giggled. "Alright, Argo."

"So, we might not see each other again," Max said.

Lin placed her hand on her cheek and eyed the wall. "I don't know. We might."

"It was nice to meet you. I'm glad we were able to work together for a little while."

"So am I. I've never really had friends. Argo's raised me since I was little, and Griffon had already destroyed Balance Valley when I was born."

"She was left on my doorstep in a crib," Argo said. "We've been together ever since."

"I couldn't ask for a better parent. And I couldn't ask for better friends." She walked to Argo and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hoo!" Argo touched the spot where Lin kissed him with his wing, his eyes wide.

Lin walked to Max and kissed him on the cheek. Max watched her bend to Gokuu's level and kiss him on the cheek. Gokuu's expression remained neutral.

She opened the door. "Goodbye. I hope you rescue Monica soon."

"Yeah." Max waved. "Bye, Lin."

"See ya," Gokuu said.

Argo shifted on the perch. "Goodbye, Lin. I hope you do become a great sage, even better than Crest himself. I also hope that you come home every once in a while."

"Okay, okay. Bye, Argo." Lin walked out and closed the door. Under her breath, she said, "Talk about overbearing." She blinked, and a tear rolled down her face. "But, who could blame him?" She turned into a Ram and walked into Starlight Canyon.

Inside Lin's house, Max said, "Let's head to Starlight Temple. We need to find out how we can save Monica."

* * *

After saying their goodbyes to Argo and finishing Balance Valley's georama, Max and Gokuu arrived at Starlight Temple. They walked to the nearest Moon Person.

"Can you tell us how far Griffon is in the past?" Max said.

"Master Crest would know."

"Crest? You must've revived him in the past, Gokuu."

"'Him?'" The Moon Person laughed. "Crest's a woman."

"He wasn't a woman before," Gokuu said.

"Master Crest will explain everything. She's up there." The Moon Person pointed to the Moon Crystal suspended above.

"Thank you." Max ran toward the ramp leading to the Moon Crystal, Gokuu following.

* * *

A Moon Person walked to an old woman standing in front of the Moon Crystal. "Madame Crest."

"Yes, those two should be arriving soon. I haven't seen them in such a long time." She heard two pairs of footsteps approaching. She turned. Max and Gokuu stopped before her.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but are you Master Crest?"

"Yes, I am, Max."

"You know my name?"

"Of course. I may be old, but that doesn't mean my memory's gone."

Max pointed at the woman. "Don't tell me. Lin?"

"That's right."

"Wow," Gokuu said. "You look really different now. You look as old as Kamesennin."

Lin scowled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Gokuu shrugged. "Nothin', really."

"You're a sage now?" Max said.

"Not just a sage. A legendary sage. I took on my teacher's name. Now, you don't need to explain anything. I know you're here to find out how to save Monica. And, to do that, you need to know how far Griffon is in the past."

"Yeah. Maybe, while saving Monica, we can defeat him."

Lin turned to the Moon Person next to her. "Will you gather everyone?"

The Moon Person bowed. "Yes, Madame Crest." He ran down the ramp. A few minutes later, he returned with ten other Moon People in tow. They surrounded the Moon Crystal and bowed repeatedly. Lin faced the Moon Crystal. She lifted her staff, and a red palace appeared.

"Griffon is 10,000 years in the past," Lin said.

"Ten thousand years?" Max said.

"Yes. He's sending a powerful consciousness from his time to ours. The soldiers he sent here and to your time are in sympathy with that consciousness."

"Does that mean that those Griffon Soldiers that attacked Buruma's house were being controlled by Griffon?" Gokuu said.

"No. They're acting of their own free will. They were evil from the beginning. The only way to stop Griffon and those soldiers from destroying the world is to go back in time and defeat Griffon there. If you do that, then those soldiers won't have anyone to lead them, and they'll fall apart."

"That's what we planned on doing from the beginning," Gokuu said. "All we gotta do is beat Griffon up, and all this will end."

"How can we go back that far?" Max said.

"Your Atlamillia can only go back 100 years at best."

"So we can't go back 100 years over and over again until we get there?" Gokuu said.

"I'm afraid not. They're not powerful enough." Lin looked at the sky. "I'm not sure if it's possible. But if it is, those at Luna Lab could do it."

"Luna Lab?"

"It's short for 'Lunatic Wisdom Laboratory.' Some of the finest minds in the world are there. Well, were. You haven't restored Veniccio yet."

Max clenched his hands. "There has to be a faster way. Who knows what Griffon could be doing to Monica now?"

"I know, but this is the fastest way I can think of."

"We have no time to lose. Let's go, Gokuu."

Gokuu nodded. "Right."

They turned to leave.

"Wait a minute, you two. Two more things."

They whirled around to face Lin.

"What is it?" Max said.

"You've restored Starlight Canyon completely." Lin opened her cloak and withdrew a red sword. "This is a Serpent Slicer. It may help Monica when you rescue her. Take it."

Max took the Serpent Slicer. He put it in his pouch.

"Now, one more thing, and I'll let you two go. Gokuu, you don't have to gather the Dragonballs anymore and revive Crest. I've become a legendary sage without him alive, and the more spiritual I became throughout my travels, the closer I became to my master. I could talk to him. I don't think I would've ever been able to do that if he were still alive. I believe that I've become a better sage with him dead, as horrible as it sounds. Use your wish on destroying Griffon if you can."

"Uh, don't get the Dragonballs, right?" Gokuu said.

"Y-yes."

"Okay, I won't. Bye."

Max waved. "Thanks, Lin. We'll see you." He and Gokuu ran toward the time gate.

Lin looked at the sky and, in it, she saw Crest. "My master, please continue to watch over them. Look after those who saved me."

Max and Gokuu stood in front of the time gate.

"How're we gonna get back?" Gokuu said.

Max's Atlamillia shone blue.

"I think Monica's Atlamillia is lending mine its power."

"Wow, from 10,000 years ago?"

"Looks like it. We need to hurry. Who knows what Griffon's doing to her?"

Max stepped in the time gate and lifted his Atlamillia. A bright light shone, and they covered their eyes.


	34. Night of the Incident

**Chapter Thirty-four: Night of the Incident**

Monica opened her eyes. She lay on her side, her knees bent and her hands behind her back, cuffs binding them and her ankles. She shivered. Something hard and cold was beneath her. She lifted herself up and tried to pry her hands apart, but to no avail.

_This can't be happening. _She struggled with her cuffs, shifting from side to side until she fell. She sat up. Darkness surrounded her. Something inhaled and then exhaled deeply, its breaths fading. _What is that?_

Her eyes widened. _My head doesn't hurt anymore. Those cuts Gaspard gave me don't hurt, either_. _Strange. Either I've been asleep for a long time and they just healed on their own, or someone healed them for me. Why on earth would they want to heal me?_

Her forearm seemed cold. She looked. Her Platinum Brassard was gone. She examined her body until coming to her waist. Her pouch was gone.

She didn't see the familiar gleam of her Atlamillia. Her right wrist was bare.

"My Atlamillia." She looked around. No glint. "Damn, my Atlamillia!"

She searched the room multiple times with her eyes and knees.

_They took it._

She sat for a while, keeping her thoughts clear to prevent herself from worrying herself sick about her Atlamillia. The lights turned on. She squinted and blinked. Plants rested on the walls, expanding and contracting to the sound of the breathing.

_Why are they breathing like people do?_

She sat on blue glass. Below the glass, white dots floated around each other.

_What's that supposed to be?_

Red carpet covered the remainder of the floor.

A door closed. Her head snapped toward the noise. Muffled footsteps grew louder. Gaspard and Dr. Jaming's legs came into view, along with Griffon's body in the middle. She looked up. Gaspard and Dr. Jaming wore neutral expressions. Gaspard held a crystal ball against his side.

Griffon bowed. "Good morning, princess. How did you sleep?"

"Where's my Atlamillia?"

"That's no way to greet me. I was trying to be nice." Griffon reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out her Atlamillia. As he withdrew it, Monica winced from its glare.

"We have your weapons as well. And, if you don't remember, the six Dragonballs."

Monica's brows slanted further downward. She opened her mouth and then closed it. _Of course they won't give it to me if I tell them to. _"What're you planning to do with it?"

"I'd rather tell all three of you when you come here. Hopefully, that'll be soon. After all, I still need Max's Atlamillia. This Atlamillia and mine aren't enough to do what needs to be done." He reached into his other cloak pocket and withdrew a yellow Atlamillia, dangling it to his side.

_That's right. Elena said Griffon had one, too._ "Why would the Atlamillia choose you?"

Griffon shrugged. "Who knows?"

Monica stared at the yellow Atlamillia. _How does he use it? How powerful is it?_

"I know what you're thinking. I'd be asking those questions, too, if I had just come across a new Atlamillia. I will answer each and every one of them.

"Fifteen years ago, my Atlamillia aided me in laying the world to waste. I don't use it the same way you and Max use yours. I simply visualized what I wanted done, and it did it. But, after I did, it lost most of its power. Now I cannot destroy even an acre of land at a time. With your Atlamillias, I might be able to accomplish my true goal. I will tell you what that is when you, Max, and Gokuu pay me a visit together.

"I have something very powerful inside me. It also lent me its energy for laying the world to waste, as well as appearing in your head and sending things from this time to Max's. I would've destroyed the world by now, but that would require most of its energy." He held his hands before himself. "It would be too much for my feeble body.

"Sometimes, a person cannot even touch an Atlamillia. This creature inside me allowed me to do it." He pinched the blue Atlamillia's pointed border, and it hung opposite the yellow one. "You gave this to us without a fuss. Just slid it right off your wrist. We took your weapons and pouch to make sure you wouldn't give us any trouble while we took it. As thanks, we've decided to show you something. Gaspard."

"Yes, sir." Gaspard walked to Monica and placed the crystal ball before her, on the floor. He walked backward until returning to his original position. "You accused me of murdering your father. Why don't you watch the duel for yourself so you can make an educated judgment?"

Monica's pupils contracted, and her mouth hung open. "F-Father?"

"Yes, I'm sure you'd love to see how your father died."

Her breathing slowed. She looked at Gaspard, then Dr. Jaming, then Griffon. She closed her eyes.

"I…"

"Can't?" Gaspard shrugged. "That's too bad."

Griffon pointed at Monica with two fingers. Her eyes jerked open, and they fixed themselves upon the crystal ball. Despite her attempts, she could not close or move them. She could not turn her head. She could not move away from the crystal ball.

"Enjoy." Griffon pointed at the crystal ball. King Raybrandt, an advisor, two bodyguards, and the throne room appeared within.

* * *

_King Raybrandt withdrew his Holy Daedalus Sword. He had to leave and save his kingdom, but one of his advisors stood in front of the door._

"_Your Majesty, you can't. What if something happens to you? What will the people do without you?"_

"_If I lock myself in here, they'll call me a coward. I must protect my people. That's what my father did until he became bedridden. I must live up to his legacy."_

_The advisor glared. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I can't allow you to pass. It's for your protection."_

"_My bodyguards will follow me wherever I go, no matter how questionable my decisions. If you will not move, then I will force you to." King Raybrandt ran toward the advisor. A yellow light enveloped the advisor. He stopped. The light disappeared, leaving a Griffon Soldier in its place. _

_The Griffon Soldier jumped to Raybrandt and then thrust its sword-like hand toward him. A bodyguard blocked the hand with his sword. The other bodyguard ran behind the Griffon Soldier and stabbed its heart._

_The doors opened, and Gaspard entered, his sword in hand. "You did a good job stalling until I got here." He closed the doors._

"_Thank you, sir…" The Griffon Soldier fell to the floor and disintegrated._

_Raybrandt gripped his sword tighter. "Bastard. Did you kill one of my advisors and then have that thing disguise itself as him?"_

"_That was no 'thing.' It was a human being, like you."_

"_I doubt it."_

_Gaspard frowned. "It's attitudes like that…"_

"_How did you get here?"_

_His mouth twisted into its usual smirk. "Your guards were too weak to fight against our Griffon Soldiers." Gaspard turned around, slicing one of the bodyguards' heads off. He cut the other one in half before his sword could reach his heart. "Too hasty. As I was saying, our Griffon Soldiers have taken over this castle."_

"_What have you done with Monica and Sophia?"  
_

"_The queen is in her room. Two Griffon Soldiers are making sure she doesn't leave. I've ordered them not to put their hands on her unless she tries to leave. Even then, they aren't allowed to hurt her. They'll leave either when our goal is accomplished or when Monica cuts them down."_

"_What happened to my guards? Why can't they kill your soldiers?"_

"_We gave them Stamina Drinks, making it nigh impossible for your guards to kill them. I told them to hold back against Monica. Emperor Griffon said it's not time to kill her yet. I don't know where Monica is, but I'm sure she's on her way here. That's why I need to kill you as quickly as possible."_

"_I'm your goal, eh?" _

_Raybrandt and Gaspard circled around each other, staring each other in the eyes. They both jumped forward and swung their swords. Their swords clashed, and they pushed, sending sparks across the room. They separated. _

_Gaspard flipped over Raybrandt. Raybrandt turned around and parried Gaspard's sword before it could reach his heart. He swung toward Gaspard's neck. Gaspard ducked and then slashed toward his legs. Raybrandt jumped sideways. _

_He ran toward Gaspard. Gaspard leaped behind him. Raybrandt turned around and saw Gaspard's sword coming toward his neck. He ducked. When Gaspard pulled back his sword, Raybrandt stood, slashing his sword up Gaspard's body. Gaspard leaped backward, his clothes torn, blood staining the carpet._

_Gaspard grinded his teeth to bear the pain. "Not bad. I have to say, you're the most challenging opponent I've had in my career."_

"_You didn't expect me to be weak, did you?"_

"_Of course not. You are a king, after all."_

_Gaspard leaped behind Raybrandt. Raybrandt faced him and parried the sword upward. He swung toward Gaspard's armpit. Gaspard blocked, and sparks flew for some seconds. They jumped backward. _

_They ran toward each other. Gaspard slashed upward. Raybrandt stepped back. He ducked and stepped toward Gaspard. He slashed horizontally toward his legs. Gaspard jumped behind him, Raybrandt's sword nicking his knee._

_Raybrandt ran to Gaspard and stabbed toward his neck. Gaspard swayed, and the blade hit air. _

_Gaspard slashed across his clothes. Before the blade could reach his skin, Raybrandt jumped backward. Pieces of his robe floated to the floor. _

_Gaspard growled. "Almost." _

_He jumped behind Raybrandt. While in midair, Raybrandt turned around so that he faced Gaspard when he landed. He thrust his sword toward Gaspard's heart. Gaspard leaned sideways, the sword stabbing his shoulder. As Raybrandt withdrew his sword, Gaspard cut his arm. Raybrandt stepped backward. Gaspard stepped forward, his sword pointed outward. Raybrandt ducked and slashed at Gaspard's shins. Gaspard jumped backward, blood dripping._

_Gaspard smiled wryly. "At least I gave you a little cut. I'm finally getting somewhere."_

_Raybrandt panted. "Just luck."_

_Gaspard began his flip behind Raybrandt. When Gaspard was directly above him, Raybrandt stabbed upward, piercing his stomach. Gaspard grunted. He thrust his sword downward. It penetrated the top of Raybrandt's head. As Gaspard fell behind him, the blade came out, knocking off Raybrandt's crown. Gaspard stood and sliced Raybrandt's back._

_Raybrandt turned around, blood pouring down his back. "Coward. How dare you attack from behind?"_

_Gaspard clutched his stomach wound. "I've been doing, or at least trying to do it the entire fight. This isn't about pride. Emperor Griffon has ordered me to kill you. I will do it using any way possible."_

"_You say that, but you still have a sense of pride when you fight."  
_

"_Maybe so." _

_Gaspard swung his sword downward. Raybrandt blocked and thrust Gaspard's sword off. Raybrandt stabbed. Gaspard stabbed. Their hits landed milliseconds apart and came within inches of each other's heart. They withdrew, blood falling from each of their wounds. _

_Gaspard swung his sword vertically. Raybrandt parried, throwing the sword sideways. He slashed, and Gaspard blocked. They jumped backward and then ran toward each other. Gaspard swung from right to left. Raybrandt leaned backward. Gaspard stepped forward, slashing from left to right. Raybrandt stepped backward. Gaspard bent and then swung upward between Raybrandt's legs. Raybrandt's eyes widened, and he backflipped._

"_You'd go that far to beat me?"_

"_Of course, Your Majesty."_

_Raybrandt ran to Gaspard, his sword pointed away from him. He lifted his sword overhead and began to swing it downward. Gaspard smirked. He thrust his sword forward. Raybrandt's eyes widened for a moment. They watered._

"_Why would you do that? This fight was in your favor, Your Majesty." Gaspard withdrew his sword from Raybrandt's heart._

_Raybrandt staggered. "Damn you… Monica… Sophia… I didn't get to tell them__—__" He gasped. He fell facedown, blood pooling around him._

_Emperor Griffon appeared next to Gaspard. "Good job. Now, to take the Atlamillia." He bent next to Raybrandt and reached for the Atlamillia. It flashed, and he yelped, pulling back his hand, smoke emanating from it._

"_Why? Why won't it accept me?" He stomped on the ground repeatedly. "I need it. I need it more than these humans ever will."  
_

"_Sir, let me try." Gaspard reached for the Atlamillia. A blue flash enveloped their vision. "Augh! Damn!" He drew in his breath between clenched teeth and looked at his smoking hand._

"_I'll think of something later." Griffon disappeared._

_The doors burst open, revealing Monica. Gaspard turned toward her and chuckled. He stretched the palm of his hand toward the wall and created a time gate. He walked through, and the time gate disappeared._

* * *

"You see, princess?" Gaspard said. "I did fight your father fairly."

"No. That's not it. That's wrong. That's not how it happened. You, you cheated somehow. You kicked him, tripped him, something, and then murdered him."

Griffon clasped his hands behind his back. "That is exactly how it happened. I witnessed the duel through this crystal ball. Because of my power, my memories never fade anymore. I can remember the details of everything that I've seen. I simply transferred my memories of the duel into that crystal ball and let it play for you. Aren't you glad you saw exactly how your father died?"

_Bastards. _She curled her lips inward. Her face became red, and she hiccupped. She uncurled her lips and gritted her teeth. She could not close her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Griffon pointed at Monica using two fingers. She closed her eyes and fell on her side. He nodded at Gaspard and Dr. Jaming, and they left, turning off the lights.

Monica scrunched up her face. She sobbed for a few minutes. Then, she began to cry. Her cries echoed so that she heard those cries repeated to her. She cried for what seemed to be an eternity.

She had not let herself cry since leaving her kingdom, as she had to complete her journey as quickly as possible. Grieving would distract her and waste time needed to restore the world. The ones who cared for her would become worried and try to comfort her instead of focusing on the tasks at hand. For those reasons, she created a habit of pushing thoughts of her father out of her head. When she accidentally allowed those thoughts to penetrate her thoughts, she held back her emotions until she could empty her mind. Her father had always put his kingdom first, and she would do the same.

Now that she had seen her father's death and lay captive, isolated in a room, unable to free herself, she cried openly. She cried herself to sleep.


	35. Moving Forward

**Chapter Thirty-five: Moving Forward**

Something growled.

Monica's eyes snapped open, tears streaming down her face, and she looked around for that something in the dark. She did not see it. Her head remained lifted for a few seconds and then she lowered it to the floor.

If she dreamed, she could not remember. Perhaps she had dreamed about her father and instinctively forced the dreams out of her memories.

Her arms and legs remained bound, her weapons gone, her Atlamillia with Griffon.

_I have to get them back._

That something growled.

_Monsters? _She looked around the room as best she could. Nothing.

A figure darker than the room entered. She lifted her head, her eyes wide. The monster approached her on all fours.

"Woof!"

_A dog? _She sat up so that she came face to face with the dog. She squinted. It appeared to be made of different-colored blocks. She cleared her throat. "Are you a monster?"

The dog gibbered. It stopped and nodded.

_If I could transform into a monster, we could talk properly. It doesn't look like it'll hurt me, but how many times have monsters tricked me before?_

The dog moved its face within inches of Monica's, and she shuffled backward.

"No. Don't do that."

The dog whimpered.

"Alright, alright."

It barked. Monica flinched as it closed the gap between them. It nuzzled different parts of her body until feeling a badge deep inside her pocket. It grabbed the badge with its teeth and pulled it out.

"That's my Himarra badge. Griffon must've missed that when he was taking my things." She turned sideways, showing the dog her cuffs. "Now, if you can release me, I can use that, and we can talk."

The dog bit down on the cuffs. They snapped in half. Monica stood and stretched, her joints cracking.

"That's much better." She bent down, took the Himarra badge from the dog, and transformed into a Himarra. "How'd you get in here, anyway? And what made you decide to help me?"

The dog wagged its tail. "I'm a Toy Rock, woof. I'm supposed to guard the palace, so when I heard a noise coming from here, I had to get here and see what was doing it. That's my job, woof. Since you said you needed to be released so that you could understand me, I released you. I need to know more about you just to make sure you don't upset things around here.

"Oh, yeah, I heard humans call our leader Emperor Griffon, so I'm going to call him Emperor Griffon so you know who I'm talking about."

"Do you know his real name?"

"I've heard that another human gave him his real name, but none of the monsters know what it is."

_Whoever this human was, they must've been really important to him. I wonder if something happened to that human. _"Where exactly are we?"

"This is a room real deep in the castle. Er, palace, woof. Yeah, that's what it's called. It took me a long time to get down here. A lot of the monsters could hear that noise. Emperor Griffon doesn't keep a tight leash on us monsters, though, since humans don't really come here. Those other Toy Rocks were too lazy to check what the noise was, so they tricked me into coming here."

Monica stifled a chuckle. "Oh, really? How?"

"They said Emperor Griffon keeps food down here, woof." It looked around. "But I don't see any food. Well, that's 'cause it's dark, but still. Hey, hey, were you the one making that noise?"

She averted her gaze. _Was I crying in my sleep? _"Yeah, I think so."

"And why were you making that noise?"

"W-well, that's…" Monica's eyes darted to the wall, the ceiling, the floor. "I'd rather not talk about it."

The Toy Rock's tail ceased to wag. "I need to know, woof. Y'know, I'm not sure whether you're a friend or an enemy right now. And I'm supposed to be guarding this palace."

She bit her lip and then told it what happened. When she finished, she sniffled.

Its tail began to wag. "Ah, okay. That sounds believable, woof. I've never met a human before, so I don't know what they're like. Usually, Emperor Griffon gets rid of 'em when they first come here. He created us monsters to guard this castle in case a human sneaks past him somehow or in case a swarm of 'em come."

"Hold on, he _created _you?"

"Uh-huh. He wasn't gonna take monsters from other places. He said they belong there. He said that where they are already is their natural habitat."

Monica placed her hand on her chin. "I have a hunch that it's because monsters naturally hate humans, too. They attack humans for no reason. That must sit right with him." _Humans must've done something pretty horrible to him to make him do all this. _"Did you see how exactly he did it?"

"I was one of the first monsters he created, so I saw him create most of the other ones. He pointed his finger, and they just appeared in smoke. For us Toy Rocks, woof, he made a bunch of blocks appear and then mashed them all together.

"I think he based the way some of his monsters looked like off of what other monsters look like, woof. A Moonflowephant looked in Emperor Griffon's crystal ball once and saw some place called Starlight Canyon. He told me that he looks like one of the monsters from there—an Elfas, I think—and that I look like a monster there, too, called a Dog Statue. Starlight Canyon's a long way into the future, though."

"Do you know how far?" Monica had not seen any windows and, thus, been unable to pinpoint the time period in which she had been transported.

"No, woof."

"Can you show me where he keeps important items?"

"What's that mean?"

"Valuables. Things that Emperor Griffon couldn't do without."

"No, you'll have to look yourself. I've seen almost every inch of the castle lots of times, woof, and I've never seen any place where Emperor Griffon keeps stuff like that."

Monica sighed. _For all I know, Griffon could've put my Atlamillia _in _the walls. _"Can you show me around?" _Maybe I can find a room or someplace where my things are._

"Yeah, woof." The Toy Rock turned around, its tail wagging, and then led her out of the room, into a lighted hallway, of which Monica could not see the end. The breathing plants lined the walls, and blue glass dotted the floors at intervals.

As they walked side by side through the hallway, Monica pointed at the glass and said, "What are these?"

"Emperor Griffon uses them to store energy in case humans attack. If us monsters run out of energy while fighting them, we can use this energy, woof. That way, we're almost guaranteed to win."

"What happens if I destroy this glass?"

The Toy Rock stopped wagging its tail and growled. "You ask a lot of questions."

"I've never been here before. You'd ask a lot of questions if you were in a new place, right?"

"Yeah, I would, actually." It began to wag its tail. "Uh, I think the energy'll leak out if you break it, woof. You might need to eat it. I'm not really sure. No one's had to use it before."

Monica smirked. _That's careless, keeping energy in a place where anyone could come in and get it. If I took it, I could create a time gate and get back to Max and Gokuu's time, like Gaspard did after he fought Father. But not now. This monster trusts me for some reason, and I need to get my Atlamillia back first. If I'm lucky, I'll get the rest of my things back, and maybe even Griffon's Atlamillia and the Dragonballs. _"Why does all the glass have cracks in them?"

"The glass is pretty hard to break, woof, so Emperor Griffon broke all the glass here a little to make it faster for us to get to the energy in case of an attack. It's still too hard for humans to break it."

_That could be a problem. If I can't get to the energy, I might not be able to make it back to Max and Gokuu's time. _"So, where are the other monsters?"

"Like I said earlier, woof, this is a real deep part of the cast—palace, so a lot of monsters don't come down here often."

They turned a corner, leading to another hallway. Monsters that Monica did not recognize were scattered throughout. They stared at Monica as she passed them.

"Last question for a little while, I promise. Why did you decide to take me out of my room?"

"You look pretty weak, woof, and I'm sure I could beat you if you decided to do something bad. Besides, I think Emperor Griffon would be happier if one more human was gone."

They continued their walk through the hallway, the Toy Rock ignoring other Toy Rocks. After they passed another Toy Rock, which tapped the Toy Rock leading her on the shoulder, Monica said, "It looks like they're trying to get your attention."

"They tricked me, remember? They tricked me into seeing what that noise was."

"Maybe they're trying to make it up to you. Apologize."

"Whatever, woof."

She looked at the walls. No signs of her Atlamillia or her weapons.

"Are there any parts of the palace that have been closed off to you?"

"There is one place. I can take you there, woof, but you won't be able to get in."

"That's fine." _I'll find a way in._

They turned a corner. When they had walked some ways through the hallway, they stopped before a vault. The silver vault towered above them. It covered the wall from top to bottom.

A safecracker working for her family had taught Monica, her father, and her mother how to crack vaults in the off chance that they forgot the combination to the vault containing their valuables.

_Maybe I can crack the code. _She eyed the Toy Rock. _But I have to get rid of this monster first._

"I hope you're not thinking of busting in there. It's pretty impossible. I've tried it myself, woof. But if there's a way for you to, you'd better not be thinking of using it." It growled.

"I'm not."

"Good, woof. I should take you back to your room. I don't think Emperor Griffon would be very happy if he went back there and saw you gone. Now that I think about it, I really shouldn't have taken you out in the first place, woof."

_I wonder, if I use this, will I be able to defeat him? Or should I trick him instead? _

A moment passed.

_Trick him. It's less risky. But if I blast open that vault, some of the things inside could be destroyed, including my Atlamillia and the Dragonballs. _She smiled wryly. _Better yet… _She perked up her flower. "Did you hear that?"

The Toy Rock's ears perked up. "Hear what?"

"Something from the other side of this vault. It sounded like a human's voice."

"Weird. I didn't hear it."

"I only heard it for a split second. You must not have been paying attention."

The Toy Rock's tail lowered. "Yeah, I guess not. I need to do better, woof. I need to get back there somehow."

"You're pretty good at hearing, right?"

"Yeah, woof. Emperor Griffon gave us keen senses. It's strange that I couldn't hear it."

"Okay. I'll need to explain how to do something, so pay close attention."

"Hey, what're you guys doing?"

Monica and the Toy Rock turned around. A Heart stood in front of them, its staff pointed toward them.

Monica gestured toward the vault with her flower. "We think there's a human behind here, and we're trying to get in."

The Heart looked Monica up and down. "You don't look like a monster from around here."

"I'm not. Emperor Griffon summoned me from many years in the present."

The Toy Rock shot Monica a look. "But, woof, you're—"

She winked. "I know. I was getting to that."

"Getting to what? I don't know what you're talking about, woof." The Toy Rock's tail pointed upward. It glared and growled. "You're trying to trick us, aren't you? There's no human back there, woof. You just wanted to steal those valuables, and then you were gonna try and kill Emperor Griffon."

The Heart walked to Monica and pointed its staff toward her neck.

"That's why you asked me if there were any places with important stuff in it. Now it all makes sense. I should've known, woof."

Monica glanced at the blue glass below her.

The Heart stepped toward her, pressing its staff against her throat. "What're you looking at?"

"Nothing." Monica swerved to the right, away from the Heart's staff, holding up the Himarra badge as she did so. She transformed into a human.

The Heart ran toward her. She backflipped onto the blue glass behind the monsters.

Monica snickered. "Hey, Toy Rock, you're an idiot. A terrible guard, too. Who lets prisoners go, anyway? You get tricked way too easily. You should do something about that."

The Toy Rock growled. It jumped, aimed itself at Monica, and launched like a rocket. Monica jumped sideways. The Toy Rock hit the glass, shattering it. It grabbed the ledges to prevent itself from falling. The Heart knelt in front of it, gripped its forearms, and pulled.

_I didn't think anyone fell for that anymore. _Monica ran to the open floor and dunked her head into the energy. Nothing.

_Oh, right. That Toy Rock mentioned that I might need to eat it. _She opened her mouth. The energy flew inside and down her throat, denying her an opportunity to taste it. Her hunger left. Happiness spread throughout her body, and she grinned. _This feeling!_ She wanted to perform backflips, climb the walls, break the vault. Her grin widened. She _could_ break the vault.

She withdrew her head. The Heart still tried to pull the Toy Rock out of the energy pool. Monica ran to the vault, blue energy swirling around her. She backed away. As she did so, she heard the Toy Rock say something in gibberish and the Heart reply. She looked. The Heart ran toward her, its staff aimed at her, while the Toy Rock remained in the energy pool.

Monica ran faster than she ever had. The world around her became a blur. She rammed her shoulder into the vault, creating a dent. She jumped sideways. The Heart hit the vault with its staff, deepening the dent.

_A few more hits._

The Heart sprinted toward her. She ran toward the vault and then kicked the dent, denting it more. She flipped over the Heart. Its staff ran into the dent. The area cracked.

The Toy Rock pulled itself onto the carpet. It turned toward Monica, who had backed into the wall, the Heart approaching her. The Toy Rock looked at the energy below. It dunked its head and ate it. The energy began swirling around it, and it barked at Monica.

Monica flipped over the Heart, landing in front of the dent. The Heart advanced toward her, gibbering.

_It's not charging at me like it did before. It must've caught wind of my plan. _She looked at the Toy Rock, which glared at her.

"Hey, Toy Rock, you're a real idiot for letting your fellow Toy Rocks trick you. You must be quite the loser."

The Heart looked at the Toy Rock, its eyebrows arched upward, gibbering. It seemed to be protesting.

The Toy Rock jumped and launched itself toward Monica. Monica flipped over the Heart. The Toy Rock smashed through the dent. Monica's body became a blur as she sprinted through the hole, jumping over the Toy Rock.

She searched the empty room. Her eyes lit up. Her weapons and pouch lay in a corner. The six Dragonballs surrounded them.

_Looks too good to be true. It could be a trap, so I have to be careful._

The Heart and Toy Rock's gibbering became louder with every second.

_But I don't have time to be careful._

She dashed to her belongings. She slid her Platinum Brassard on her left arm, unsheathed her Dusack, and stuffed the Dragonballs in her pouch.

_But my Atlamillia isn't here. Does Griffon still have it?_

She turned toward the Heart and Toy Rock charging at her, the Toy Rock ahead of the Heart, energy swirling around it. _I could probably defeat them—well, the Heart at least__—__with this energy. After all, I dented that vault a couple of times._

She charged her brassard fully and then released a fireball. The fireball engulfed the Heart in flames. The Toy Rock stopped and turned around. The Heart ran into it. They fell on the ground, rolling on top of each other, the flames covering both of them.

Monica sprinted out of the vault. _That energy really boosted my weapons' power._

She ate the energy in the pool. She stood and ran through the hallway.

_I have to find Griffon._

No monsters stood in the hallway.

_Strange. I wonder why they—_

A puff of purple smoke appeared in front of her, knocking her onto her back. The smoke disappeared. Griffon floated in its place.

"Looking for this?" Griffon opened his cloak and withdrew the blue Atlamillia, dangling it. "You want it? Come and get it."

Monica's grip on her Dusack tightened. She leaped. She swung her sword toward Griffon's wrist. Griffon lifted his arm. Monica passed under Griffon's arm and fell onto one knee. She turned around.

_He's gonna play that kind of game with me, huh? _She charged her brassard fully. She released the fireball. Upon reaching Griffon, it dissipated.

_What? He can't be that strong._

She leaped, her Dusack's edge away from her. It came within inches of Griffon's heart and then bounced off. The sword landed some feet away. Griffon disappeared, and Monica fell facedown. He reappeared, laughing. She swiveled around and glared.

Monica sprinted around Griffon and picked up her sword. She flipped over him, reaching for the Atlamillia, but he disappeared, and she fell.

She released a multitude of fireballs. While they flew toward Griffon, she jumped toward him. Griffon disappeared as the fireballs dissipated, and Monica fell.

She tried, and failed, multiple times to obtain her Atlamillia. After what seemed to be an eternity to her, Griffon tossed her the Atlamillia.

He laughed. "You've entertained me."

Monica glared. Her face flushed further, and she panted.

"Even when my Atlamillia and yours are in close proximity, they don't react." He pointed at the Atlamillia. "I have no use of that until Max also comes and gives me the red Atlamillia. Max and Gokuu are in Veniccio right now to restore Luna Lab. After that, they're going to come here to save you."

"Not if I can help it." Monica slid the Atlamillia on her wrist. She ran to the energy pool and ate. She lifted her Dusack. "This is it, Griffon. You're through."

Griffon rose above Monica and looked down on her. "You think you can defeat me?" He spread apart his arms. "All the energy in this palace isn't enough for you to kill me. I thought your earlier embarrassments made that clear."

_Now that I think about it, he never seemed to get tired. My magic didn't work against him, either._

"I have an unlimited supply of energy coming from within my body. I assure you, it will never run out of energy, and it will not let me die."

"Won't let you die? What exactly do you have inside you?"

Griffon's eyes narrowed. "Something that you could never understand."

"I can't understand if you don't tell me what it is."

Griffon blinked. "It started as a feeling at first, but then, that feeling got so strong that it began to supply me with energy. It began to help me in accomplishing my goal."

_This…thing started as a feeling. I'm still not sure what it is, but it must be extremely powerful._

He looked Monica in the eyes. "You're welcome to try and kill me."

"I've come this far. I have to try."

Griffon lowered his arms. "You're free to attack me. I won't block, dodge, anything."

Silence for a moment.

"Go ahead. I assure you that I won't do anything."

Monica leaped toward Griffon, her Dusack overhead. She swung her sword upon Griffon's hooded head. The sword bounced off, and Monica fell on her back, her sword still in her grip.

"See? I told you. Now it's my turn." He pointed at her with two fingers. Her pouch opened, and the six Dragonballs flew into his hand.

"Damn!" _There's probably no chance that I can get them back now. _Before Monica could hold her hand toward the wall and visualize Veniccio, her Atlamillia shone red. Her eyes widened.

"What?"

_This is your chance. Kill her now._

Griffon gritted his teeth and scrunched his face for a moment. In that moment, a red time gate appeared.

_Is Max's Atlamillia lending mine its power? I can't think about it right now. This is the best chance I have to get back._

She jumped into the time gate, and it disappeared.

Griffon felt a force overwhelming his body, urging it to sleep. He fell facedown and went into a slumber.

* * *

The Dark Element crushed Sirus with his hand. "You messed up again. You had plenty of time to kill that human. Instead, you played with her like she was a bull. You let her take her weapons back and, even worse, you _gave _her the Atlamillia." It narrowed its eyes. "You still like those three humans."

Sirus opened his eyes so that they became half-lidded. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry, sorry, all you say is 'sorry.' You never do anything. You just sit and watch them. You could easily kill them. Just like that one human kid says, all you have to do is kill those three, and everything will be over. It's so simple."

Sirus shook his head. "I'm not strong enough to do it."

"What do you mean 'not strong enough?' I'm giving you all the power you need." It paused. "Oh, that's right, you mean emotionally. I'll leave you and kill them myself if you don't take action soon." The Dark Element tightened his grip on Sirus. "Understand?"

"Y-yes."

The Dark Element released him. Sirus floated into the darkness.


	36. Me and Shingala

**Chapter Thirty-six: Me and Shingala**

Max and Gokuu entered Balance Valley station. Cedric, Borneo, and Erik met them on their way to the Blackstone One.

"You kids finally made it," Cedric said. "We were gettin' worried about you three."

Borneo placed a hand on his hip. "How'd everything go?"

Max explained what happened.

Erik whistled. "Crest is dead, Lin took his place, and Monica was captured. That's a lot. How're you gonna get her back?"

"Lin said we need to restore Veniccio. That way, Luna Lab'll come back. The scientists there should be able to help us go 10,000 years into the past, to Griffon's time, assuming that's where she is."

"We should hurry then," Borneo said. "We'll get the train started up. Just hold tight for a few." He, Cedric, and Erik ran inside the Blackstone One's front car.

Max and Gokuu sat in an empty car toward the back of the train.

Max looked out the window. He did not pay attention to his surroundings. _I didn't think I'd hit her so hard earlier. I didn't mean to. If I hadn't, this wouldn't have happened. I have no idea what he's doing to her. _He growled and pounded his fist against the window, cracking it.

Gokuu took notice. "Hey, what's wrong? You still worried about Monica?"

"Yeah."

The train began to move. The scenery became a dark gray blur.

"We'll restore Veniccio real quick. I can even go through the dungeons by myself and just grab the Geostones without fighting. The monsters always take a liking to me, so they shouldn't mind."

Max smiled. "That'd help. Thanks, Gokuu."

Gokuu settled into the seat, creating creases. "It was really my fault, y'know. I was right next to her on that ship. If I hadn't looked at the Moon Crystal, I would've never turned into an ape, and I wouldn't have scared those bad guys back to Griffon's time."

"You wouldn't have had to go down there to save her in the first place if I hadn't hit her that hard during our fight. This whole mess would've never started."

"No, Griffon started it all. He attacked Palm Brinks for no reason. Did anyone in Palm Brinks do anything to him?"

Max shrugged. "Not that I know of."

"So it's not your fault. If I had to fight someone who was brainwashed, I woulda done the same thing. I think anyone woulda."

"Yeah. Griffon really showed us how much he hates humans these past few days." Max stared at the seat in front of him. "The whole time I was protecting Lin from the flames, I couldn't help but glance at Monica and Gaspard fighting. After I destroyed a flame, I would look up and watch for a sec. My mind was on protecting Lin and protecting Monica, even though I couldn't protect them both."

A moment of silence passed.

Gokuu stood. "I gotta go to the bathroom." He ran to the door and slid it open. Gerald stood in the doorway, his arm outstretched as though he were about to open the door.

"Excuse me." Gerald walked past Gokuu.

"Uh-huh." Gokuu left the car.

Gerald walked to Max's seat. He looked at the crack in the window and then at Max. Max stared at his lap, his hands clenching, biting his lip.

"Did you do that?" Gerald nodded toward the crack.

"Yes, Father."

Gerald sat next to Max. "Cedric told me what happened. Do you feel like it was your fault?"

"Yes. Gokuu tried to make me feel better by telling me it was Griffon's fault, but I still feel so guilty."

"Look at me."

Max did so.

"Your life was in danger that evening. If you hadn't hit her, you would be dead right now."

"I know, but now—" He cut himself off. He could not think about the worst outcome. "How are Gokuu and I supposed to fix everything without her?"

"You're a smart young man. Combine that with Gokuu's strength, and you two will be able to do it."

Max smiled. His father's compliments were few and far between. When he did compliment him, Max would etch the compliment into his memories to cherish it.

His smile diminished. "Father, if something like this happened to Mother, what would you do?"

Gerald replied quickly. "I would go to the ends of the earth for her. But, right now, that's not possible."

"'Not possible?' What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Gerald's eyes moved to the floor and became half-lidded. His eyebrows arched upward, and he mumbled, "I haven't seen your mother since the day she left."

Max blinked. His mouth opened, and then he closed it. He stared at his lap. _So, all this time, Father hasn't seen her, either. I asked him, complained to him every day about her, but he was probably hurting, too. Maybe even more than me. _

He looked at Gerald. "When I find Mother, I'll make sure that you two meet again."

"I'd appreciate that very much." Gerald placed his hand on Max's shoulder. "Listen, I know what happened both to your mother and Monica is tearing you up inside, but—look at me—you will find them, and you will save Monica. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Father." He paused. "Thank you."

A small smile appeared on Gerald's face, and he nodded. "You're welcome."

* * *

Shingala roared as he walked toward the cliff.

"Shingala, stop!" Pau ran toward him. "Don't get closer to the edge. If you do, the end of the cliff might break off."

Shingala hung his head down and whimpered. He slowly walked away from the cliff's brink until meeting Pau, who stood halfway between the cliff's edge and the large plateau leading to it.

"Come here."

Shingala lowered his head to Pau's level. Pau began to rub it.

"I know you like the view, but the last time you were over there, part of the cliff almost broke off. I had a time trying to pull you away before that happened. You were kinda running, too, so you almost ran me over."

Shingala released a sound resembling a laugh.

"We have to stay over here. We clear on that?"

Shingala nodded. Pau stopped rubbing his head, and he lifted it.

Pau took out a small, green ball. He pointed at the plateau behind them. "Let's play down there. It's much safer."

Shingala pointed his head toward the sun and roared in agreement.

Pau ran down the cliff. Shingala followed. Upon reaching the plateau, Pau began throwing the ball, Shingala catching it using his mouth. After some time, Pau said, "Ready for the big one?"

Shingala roared.

Pau began to wheel his arm. "This is your favorite part, isn't it? Get ready. And remember, don't go after it if it goes off the cliff or plateau. Got it?"

Shingala nodded rapidly, grinning.

Pau threw the ball. Shingala instinctively turned around and ran toward the ball, which flew toward the cliff's edge.

Pau sprinted toward him. "Shingala, no! Don't!"

Shingala kept running. Pau jumped toward Shingala, both arms outstretched. The ball fell off the cliff, to Ocean's Roar Cave. Pau grabbed Shingala's tail. Shingala, who was close to the cliff's edge, stopped and whirled around. The edge of the cliff broke, and Shingala and Pau fell, Shingala's head smacking the edge of the remaining rock, knocking him unconscious.

Monsters watched the two crash into the sand, debris falling around them. Some backed away while others stepped closer. Corsairs held up their cutlasses.

Pau, stuck under Shingala's fin, stirred. His eyes opened, and he looked at the monsters.

"Sh-Shingala." He crawled out of the fin and shook it. "Wake up. Monsters."

Corsairs, Gerons, and Fintols approached them.

Pau waved his hands in front of his face. "Wait, don't attack us. We fell down here by accident. We were playing with a ball, and it fell off the cliff, see, and—" He pointed to Shingala—"this Shigura came after it, I grabbed onto his tail, the edge of the cliff broke, and we both ended up down here. We're not humans, so we won't cause any problems. Could you just let us leave?"

The monsters stopped and looked at each other. They nodded. They smiled at Pau.

"Go ahead, as long as you don't take our treasure," a Corsair said.

"We don't need it."

Pau examined Shingala. He had a gash on his neck.

"Say, you guys wouldn't happen to have any medicine around here, would you?"

The monsters looked at each other, muttering.

A Fintol shook its head. "Sorry."

"Thanks anyway. We'll be going, then." He stared at Shingala. "Well, if I can get this big guy moving."

Shingala opened his eyes. His eyes widened, and he lifted his head to the sky and roared. The monsters covered their ears.

"Shingala, stop that. I know it hurts. Calm down, calm down." Pau rubbed Shingala's back. "I have some medicine at home. That should help."

Shingala lowered his head to look Pau in the eyes, his eyes twinkling with tears.

"Now, now, don't cry. C'mon, let's go home."

Pau grabbed Shingala's fin, and they began their walk home.

* * *

The train stopped. Max rammed his head into the seat in front of him while Gokuu slammed into the same seat. Max fell onto the floor, the world spinning. Gokuu slid onto his lap. He stood.

"Max, it looks like we're here. Get up. We gotta go save Monica."

Max's eyes lost their haziness, and he stood. "Right."

The car door opened, and Cedric walked to them.

"Sorry for the sudden stop. Looks like the railroad's broke. We can't go any farther."

Max looked out the window. "This looks like the place we need to be, anyway. Gokuu, let's hurry."

"Okay."

They ran past Cedric, out the train and the station, down the pier and onto the sand. Their shoes sunk.

_When I get a chance,_ Max thought,_ I'll take my shoes off so I can really see what it feels like._

Max and Gokuu looked around. The ocean caught Max's eye. It was a lighter shade of blue than Palm Brinks' water and the sea surrounding Starlight Canyon's lighthouse. He could see to the bottom. Its tide washed the shore at intervals. He promised himself he would go in later.

They heard a cry to their right.

"Was that a monster?" Gokuu said.

"Dunno, but we'd better check. That might be where the Geostones are."

Max led the way into the cave from whence the cry came. A large blue creature's head pointed to the ceiling, its face scrunched up, and a Moon Person faced it, holding his hands toward its long neck.

"I said not to move it."

The creature lowered its head onto the floor, its eyes closed. Its body rose and fell steadily.

The Moon Person turned toward Max and Gokuu. "What do you want? I'm a bit tied up right now."

Max noticed that the creature had a gash on its neck. "Sorry, but we're looking for the area monsters are in. We need to pick something up from there."

The Moon Person raised its eyebrows. "You humans? Well, it's none of my business. To the left of my cave, you'll see a narrow shoreline. Follow that shoreline, and you'll start seeing monsters."

"Thanks a lot. Gokuu, let's go."

"Hold on."

They faced the Moon Person. He rubbed medicine on the blue creature's gash. He stopped.

"Of course human medicine won't work. Damn it." He threw the jar of medicine across the room. "Hey, could you do me a favor?"

"Actually, we're a bit tied up ourselves," Max said. Gokuu nodded.

"Since you're going out there anyway, could you go through Ocean's Roar Cave until you get to Shigura Village? They might have some medicine that can help Shingala. I'm guessing you two can fight your way through monsters."

"Yeah," Gokuu said. "We did at all the other places."

"Thanks a lot. I'm Pau, by the way. This is Shingala. He's a Shigura that turned up here lost about a month ago."

"I'm Maximilian. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Son Gokuu."

"So there are a lot of other Shigura that look like Shingala in this village, right?" Max said.

"Yes. Every year, the Shigura migrate from the south to live on these shores. I think Shingala got split up from the tribe. He took a liking to me, and I've kinda taken a liking to him, so I kinda haven't gotten around to taking him back to the village. He wouldn't be able to get there now, anyway, with this cut and all. He had a hard enough time just getting from Ocean's Roar Cave back here." Pau scratched the back of his head. "I didn't mean to do all that talking. You'd better get going."

"Alright. We'll see you in a bit with that medicine." Max ran out the cave, Gokuu following. They turned toward the shoreline Pau spoke of.

"Hey, Gokuu!"

Max and Gokuu turned around. A boat carrying a man with short, black hair; two bald males; a blue-haired girl; an animal with blue fur; and a pig sped toward the shore. Two males wore the same orange uniform Gokuu wore.

"Hey, that looks like Kamesennin and them." Gokuu ran toward the boat. He met it at the shoreline. Max stopped next to him, his mouth open, looking over the people and two animals inside.

The younger of the bald males jumped out the boat. "Hey, Gokuu, long time no see." He grabbed Gokuu's hands, and they danced in a circle.

"Yeah, yeah, I haven't seen you in ages." Gokuu's grin reached both ears.

They released their hands from each other.

The black-haired boy walked to Gokuu and slapped Gokuu's hand as Buruma, the older bald male, and the pig climbed out of the boat.

The blue creature floated close to Gokuu's face. "How've you been?"

"Great. I'm on a whole new adventure right now with Max."

The pig pointed at Max using his thumb. "That Max?"

Max's eyes widened. _Wow, both of those animals talk. I guess that makes them monsters._

"Sure is," Buruma said. "He's the one who helped save me from those monsters that came to my house."

Everyone, save Gokuu, introduced themselves to Max, and Max introduced himself to everyone, save Gokuu.

"What're you guys doin' here?" Gokuu said.

Yamcha grinned. "To train for the next Tenkaichi Budoukai, of course. There are supposed to be a lot of tough monsters in Ocean's Roar Cave."

Gokuu turned to Buruma and Oolong. "What made you guys wanna come? Are you entering the tournament, too?"

Buruma rubbed against Yamcha, and Yamcha blushed. "Since he was coming, I decided to come, too."

"I don't have anything to do, so why not?" Oolong gestured to Kuririn, Yamcha, and Muten Roushi. "These guys'll protect me. And with you here, Gokuu, I won't get even a little scratch."

"What about Lunch?"

"Lunch is keeping my hut intact," Muten Roushi said. "My turtle's there to keep her from sneezing. You've stayed off Kintoun like I said, right?"

Gokuu placed his hand on the back of his head. "I used it a few times, but they were emergencies. People were in trouble. And, some other times, I forgot."

"I can forgive the emergencies, but you can't forget. It's absolutely essential that you stay off Kintoun. If you don't, your training won't work."

"'Kay. I won't forget again. I won't even use it for emergencies."

Muten Roushi nodded. "Good. Now, you said something about an adventure. Are you talking about Griffon?"

Max looked at Muten Roushi. "So, you know about him."

"Yes, I've seen the destruction Griffon's caused. But he left my Kame House alone."

"And my city," Buruma said. "Those places Gokuu and I went before he started training with Muten Roushi were left alone, too."

Max placed his hand in his chin. "As far as I know, Griffon only leaves something alone when there's something important there." He lifted his Atlamillia. "Like my Atlamillia. He didn't destroy my hometown of Palm Brinks because he knew it was somewhere there. He's after this and Gokuu's Dragonball."

Everyone stared at him.

"I'll explain what's happened so far. Gokuu, you should go pick up the Geostones."

"Right." Gokuu ran into Ocean's Roar Cave, a cloud of dust trailing, and Max began his explanation.

* * *

Pau rubbed Shingala's head. _He's been quiet ever since those two left. Thank goodness. I'm not sure how much longer I could've taken his crying._

Shingala lifted his head and roared.

"What's wrong? Is it the cut?"

Shingala ran toward the entrance.

"Wait, where are you going? Stop!" Pau jumped and grabbed Shingala's tail. Shingala swung it, throwing Pau through a crate and into the wall. He fell facedown.

Shingala left the cave. Pau scrambled up and then ran toward the cave entrance.

* * *

Max was hardly halfway finished when Shingala ran out of Pau's cave.

Buruma backed away. "_What _is that?"

"That's Shingala, a Shigura," Max said. "B-but I don't see Pau with him. I thought he couldn't move. Maybe he heard one of the Shigura calling him, and he's heading where it is." Max looked at the raised eyebrows behind him. "Sorry, I'll finish explaining later."

Yamcha took a battle stance. "Should we do something?"

Max shrugged. "Dunno. I'll go see Pau and ask him about it."

As Max ran toward Pau's cave, Shingala entered Ocean's Roar Cave. Max met Pau halfway.

Pau panted. "You gotta help me. Shingala, he's…" Tears welled up in his eyes.

"We saw." Max nodded toward the group behind him. "What happened to him?"

"I dunno. He just got up all of a sudden and started running out. I tried to stop him, but he threw me off. That's the first time he's ever hurt me on purpose. We have to go after him." He shook his head. "But he's too fast for me."

"If Gokuu were here, he'd probably be able to catch him."

Kuririn raised his hand. "I'll do it. I've trained with Gokuu, too, and I can run almost as fast as him."

Max smiled. "Thanks a lot."

"Thank you so much," Pau said. "Stay safe. There are monsters in the place Shingala headed."

"That's why we came in the first place." Muten Roushi turned to Kuririn. "Will you be able to handle the monsters by yourself?"

Kuririn pounded a fist on his chest. "Of course. You can count on me." He ran onto Ocean's Roar Cave's shore, dust trailing him.

He ran through the shore, his speed knocking monsters down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blue mound moving down. He turned and ran toward Shingala, who ran down sand stairs and into a cave.

He slowed. _How am I supposed to take him back? _

Yells came from behind. He looked. Monsters ran after him, and he sped up.

_I probably made them angry since I knocked them all down earlier. I don't have time to fight them._

Kuririn ran to the top of the stairs, jumped on the ground, and ran toward Shingala. After closing the gap, he jumped onto Shingala's neck. Shingala shook his neck.

"Whoops. Guess I-I jumped too m-much." Vomit surfaced in his mouth, and he covered his mouth with one hand. _I think I'm gonna be sick._

The monsters' yells grew louder.

He opened his mouth and let the vomit splash on the ground. "Gotta hurry, gotta hurry. What do I do?" He stared at Shingala's head for some moments. "I think I have a plan. I sure hope this works."

Kuririn jumped off Shingala's neck and flipped in front of Shingala's head. He kicked it, twisting Shingala's neck so that he looked at the monsters behind him. Shingala roared as Kuririn landed on his feet. Shingala fell. He slept, his body rising up and down.

_Looks like that did it. _Kuririn walked to Shingala's tail and grabbed it. After taking two steps toward the stairs, he stopped. A Corsair, Geron, and Fintol stood in front of the stairs. He dropped the tail.

He grinned and scratched the back of his head. "H-hey, guys. Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to knock all of you down. I thought I was running so fast that you couldn't see me. I was actually really hoping that you wouldn't be able to recognize me. Funny how things happen, right?" He laughed.

A Corsair threw its cutlass toward Kuririn. It landed in the sand next to him, quieting him.

Kuririn bit his lip. "Guess it's not very funny."

The Geron jumped toward Kuririn, its leg extended. Kuririn glanced behind him. Shingala remained asleep. Kuririn jumped toward the Geron. Their legs clashed. They separated, landing on the ground.

The Corsair sprinted toward him. The Fintol rolled toward his legs. The Corsair jumped to him and slashed its cutlass. Kuririn caught it by the blade.

Kuririn eyed the Fintol, lifted the Corsair by its cutlass, and threw it into the wall, sand falling on it. The Fintol knocked Kuririn down. Kuririn stood and backflipped toward the Corsair.

The Corsair stood and threw its cutlass. The blade buried itself into the back of Kuririn's head.

Kuririn jumped. "Yee-ou—" His head slammed into the ceiling. He fell facedown in front of Shingala.

_M-my head… _He gurgled into the water on the floor. _Maybe if I stay down, they'll think I'm dead and go away. Just be patient. _

He remained motionless for some minutes. Then, the Corsair withdrew its cutlass from the ground. It stood in front of Kuririn's head. It grabbed its cutlass' hilt and pulled.

Kuririn gritted his teeth and scrunched his eyes. _Stay quiet._

The blade began to come out. Kuririn squeaked. The Corsair stopped. It motioned to the other monsters, and they surrounded Kuririn. The Geron lifted Kuririn's head. Kuririn appeared to be dead, and it dropped his head.

_Ow, ow. Be careful with me, damn it._

The Corsair yanked its cutlass out. Kuririn lifted his head and yelped, grabbing the spot where the cutlass had been. He opened his eyes and looked at the Corsair, Geron, and Fintol glaring at him. He chuckled.

Kuririn saw flashing red lights as the Geron smashed its legs on the top of his head. His vision blurred.

He stood. "C-c'mon, guys. Hasn't my head been through enough abuse today?" He blinked twice, and he saw clearly.

The Geron kicked his stomach. Kuririn doubled over. The Fintol rolled into Kuririn's legs, knocking him onto his back. The Corsair slashed its cutlasses, and parts of his clothes fell off, revealing red lines.

Kuririn stood and then flipped over the monsters, landing away from Shingala. He sprinted toward them. "I'll finish this quickly."

He slid around the Geron and Fintol and punched the Corsair rapidly. The Corsair fell to the ground and disintegrated. Kuririn blew on his fists.

The Fintol rolled toward Kuririn. When it was close, Kuririn grabbed it with both hands and threw it into the Geron. They crashed into the wall, the Fintol on top. Kuririn jumped to the wall and kicked the Fintol, creating a dent. He landed. He jumped and kicked, and sand fell on them.

Kuririn smashed the Geron's head, which poked out above the Fintol's body, with his fist. Before he could land, the Geron's leg reached around the Fintol and slammed into Kuririn's crotch. Kuririn clutched his stomach. He fell on his back, curled into a ball, and scrunched his face.

"Why do these things only happen to me?"

The Fintol and Geron slid off the wall, onto the ground. Kuririn jumped onto his feet.

"It's payback time." Kuririn sprinted toward the Geron. When he came close, he outstretched an arm, crushing the Geron's face using his fist. He kept running, the Geron attached to his fist. Its head smashed into the wall. He punched and kicked it until it disintegrated.

He turned to the right, facing the Fintol. "Looks like it's just you and me, buddy."

He clasped his hands and jumped toward the Fintol, his hands lifted overhead. The Fintol rolled behind Kuririn, waiting for him to land.

Shingala picked up his head and roared. He glanced at Kuririn and the Fintol and then began to run away.

Kuririn watched Shingala. "Hey, don't run!" He staggered upon his landing and fell backward on top of the Fintol. The Fintol rolled out from under him, and Kuririn fell. He stood as the Fintol turned around and spun toward him. He clasped his hands and swung his fists onto the Fintol's shell, cracking it and burying the Fintol into the sand. It disintegrated.

Kuririn ran in the direction Shingala had run. A silhouette with spikes on top came into view. Kuririn slowed. The silhouette brightened. Gokuu ran toward him, carrying three glowing oval-shaped rocks. They skidded to a stop.

"Did you see a giant blue sea dragon?"

"You mean Shingala? Yeah, I saw him. I thought it was kinda weird that he was running even though that cut hurts him when he moves."

"He ran away from home, and I'm trying to catch him. Problem is, I don't know where he went."

"I'd go after him with you, but I'm supposed to be collecting these"—Gokuu held up the stones—"to save Monica. But Shingala was running through this hallway. He didn't turn, so you can still catch him."

Kuririn sighed. "I hate to go back like a loser, but I don't think I can handle any more of those monsters on my own. I'd better go back and get the others to help."

He turned and began to run to Veniccio, Gokuu following. As they ran, Gokuu said, "Hey, what happened to your head?"

A light blush appeared on Kuririn's cheeks. "None of your business."


	37. Into the Roaring Cave

**Chapter Thirty-seven: Into the Roaring Cave**

The group's heads snapped toward the footsteps. Gokuu and Kuririn slid to a stop before them.

Gokuu held three Geostones toward Max and grinned. "I got some Geostones."

"Great." Max took them. "Thanks, Gokuu. I'll get started." He reached into his pouch and pushed a button. A whirring noise enveloped the area, and the ground shook. The Carpenterion flew over the distant rocks and lowered itself close to the ocean, waves below it scattering. Kuririn and the others stared at it, wide-eyed.

"What's that?" Puar said.

"It's the Carpenterion. We've been using it to restore the world."

"Are you going to bring back the people who used to live here, too?"

"I can't do that since Griffon wiped them all out. I've brought people from my hometown of Palm Brinks, and things have always worked out just fine."

Gokuu faced Ocean's Roar Cave. "I'm goin' back in. Do you want me to pick up Shingala while I'm gettin' the Geostones?"

"We'll take care of that." Muten Roushi looked at Yamcha and Kuririn. "Right?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah." Yamcha nodded.

"Yes, Muten Roushi-sama," Kuririn said.

"Alright. I'll be goin', then." Gokuu dashed into the cave.

Pau turned toward Kuririn. "Why didn't _you_ get Shingala like you said?"

Kuririn placed his hand on the cut in the back of his head. "Ouch!" He removed it. "Uh, right. Monsters attacked me while I was pulling Shingala out of the cave. Shingala escaped while I was fighting them, so I couldn't get him. I'm really sorry. Those monsters are pretty tricky to defeat."

Pau narrowed his eyes. "Excuses…"

"All the more reason for us to go in together," Muten Roushi said.

"I think I'll stay here where it's safe," Buruma said.

Max turned to her. "Buruma, why don't you help me fix up Veniccio? It'd make everything go a lot faster."

"Hm, I guess I could try to figure that machine out."

"Then the rest of us will bring back Shingala," Muten Roushi said.

Pau glared. "Try not to come back empty-handed this time."

Kuririn snorted. He, Muten Roushi, Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong entered Ocean's Roar Cave.

"This doesn't look like a cave," Oolong said. "This is more of a shoreline."

"There are stairs that lead to the cave," Kuririn said.

A Sea Bat and a Goyone flew and swam, respectively, in the distance.

"S-since we're looking for Shingala, we should probably just ignore them. We can train later, right?" Kuririn looked at Muten Roushi.

"Yes, I suppose. But only until we find Shingala."

"I see stairs over there." Puar pointed to sand-stairs to their right. The group ran down the stairs, Yamcha in front. The stairs led to a path some feet long, and the path led to a dead end.

"Looks like we can't go any farther." Yamcha saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Wait a minute." He walked to the wall and bent down. "There's a hole over here." He squinted. "But I can't see anything."

"A hole? Move over." Oolong took Yamcha's place. "Where do you think it goes?"

"Maybe it goes to wherever Shingala went," Kuririn said.

Yamcha turned around. "Puar, go through that hole and tell us where it leads."

"B-but…"

"I know you're scared, but just transform into something inconspicuous, like, well, I dunno, a monster or something. Besides, I'll dig my way to you if you have any trouble. If something happens, just call, and we'll get there as quick as we can."

Puar nodded. He transformed into a Sea Bat and then flew into the hole. He screamed.

"Already?" Yamcha began to use his hands to enlarge the hole. Kuririn ran to his side and aided him.

"N-not yet. Um, it's just really dark in here."

Yamcha struggled to keep his voice calm. "Don't scare us like that. No false alarms."

"Okay. I'm going in." Puar flew through the tunnel, looking around and concentrating on sounds. However, the hole remained silent.

At the end of the tunnel was a small clearing. A large treasure chest sat in the middle. Puar flew to the chest and gulped. _I hope there isn't something scary in here. _He looked around and then de-transformed. He placed his hands on its lid. He used all his strength to pull upward.

The chest's lid flew open, and Puar fell on his back. He sat up. The chest glowed golden. He hovered above the chest.

"W-wow." Then, he yelled, "Yamcha-sama, I found some treasure."

Yamcha grinned. "Treasure? Can you bring it back?"

Puar gripped the bottom of the chest and tried to lift it. "No, it's too heavy."

"Too heavy?" His grin widened. "Alright, we'll be right there." He faced the others behind him. "Did you hear that?"

"Sure did," Kuririn said. "Let's start digging."

Yamcha and Kuririn began to dig, enlarging the tunnel so that all of them could crawl through it. Once finished, they crawled to the end of the tunnel, one behind the other. Puar hovered to the side of the chest. He spread his arm.

"Here it is."

Yamcha rushed to the chest, the others not far behind him. He scooped up some of the treasure, and it illuminated his hands.

"Zeni _and _Gilda." Yamcha's tongue hung out the corner of his mouth. "I didn't think they had Gilda anymore. I'm rich. Finally, I'm rich."

Kuririn poked his back. Yamcha looked back at everyone's narrowed eyes.

"Okay, we're rich."

Muten Roushi lifted his sunglasses to his forehead. "Yes, a bit of this won't be bad for a payment."

"Payment? You never told us about a payment."

"I'm telling you now. Some of this is mine." Muten Roushi lowered his sunglasses to their original position. "Now, let's get this back to Veniccio. I'm sure that Max lad or whatever his name is has a place we can keep this until we get Shingala."

Kuririn ran to one side of the chest. "Gimme a hand, Yamcha."

"I'm on it." Yamcha ran to the opposite side. "On the count of three."

They slid their hands underneath the chest.

"One, two, three." Yamcha hoisted the chest to his shoulder, lifting Kuririn with it.

"Are you trying to be funny?" Kuririn said.

Yamcha chuckled. "I must be stronger than I thought."

"Get real."

"I'll push this chest through the tunnel, then."

Kuririn dropped to his feet. Yamcha placed the chest in the tunnel and pushed it forward a little ways. He crawled into the tunnel and began to push it through, the others behind him. Once out the tunnel, Yamcha carried the chest toward the stairs, the group following.

* * *

Two Corsairs crawled through the tunnel.

"Why do we have to check on this all the time?" one said. "It's not like any of the other monsters care about our treasure enough to look for it. I mean, why do they need Zeni and Gilda, anyway?"

"Captain's orders, you know that," the other said. "Monsters always keep Gilda on them. You never know what could happen. Way back before you joined our crew, all the monsters stole Gilda from the humans. Us Corsairs and Captains kept the majority of it for ourselves, since we did all the hard work. The monsters could become greedy and decide to steal it."

"They have no reason to get greedy."

"I know, but still. Monsters only carry Gilda just in case we need to pay the humans."

"What are the chances of that?"

"Hey, you never know what could happen."

The first sighed. "Sometimes, I wish I were Captain. I'd take all the other monsters' treasures and keep them for myself."

They hopped down the ledge. The chest's lid was open. No golden light emanated from it.

"Now, what reason would anyone have for stealing our treasure?" the first said.

The second shrugged. "Who knows? Humans haven't been here in years, so I doubt they stole it. Let's go ask the monsters. We have to find the treasure before the Captain finds out."

The two Corsairs climbed into the tunnel.

* * *

Goyones swam close to the stairs. The group stood at the top, out of their sight.

"How do they swim without water?" Puar said.

"They're monsters, not fish." Muten Roushi turned to Yamcha and Kuririn. "Looks like it's time for your training to begin. Get out there, and good luck."

"Yes, Muten Roushi-sama," Kuririn said as Yamcha dropped the chest.

Something behind them hissed. "Humans!"

They turned around. Two Corsairs stood behind them, their cutlasses raised.

"I think we took their treasure." Yamcha cracked his knuckles. "We'll have to take on these guys first."

Kuririn gulped and glanced at the Goyones on the shore. "Let's not get the attention of those fish monsters up there. Fighting six monsters at once wouldn't be good."

The two ran toward the Corsairs.

"I thought all the humans were destroyed long ago," the first said.

"It doesn't matter now," the other said. "We have to get our treasure back, or the Captain will make us walk the plank."

Kuririn jumped toward the first Corsair, his leg outstretched. When he came close, the Corsair swiped its cutlass. Kuririn moved his leg upward so that the cutlass passed beneath it. He slammed his shin on its head, and the Corsair crashed into the ground.

As Kuririn landed, it stabbed its other cutlass into his kneecap. Kuririn yelped and backflipped, forcing the cutlass out. The Corsair staggered to its feet. It threw one of its cutlasses at Kuririn's head. While it flew, the Corsair ran toward him.

Kuririn swayed. Muten Roushi caught the cutlass and crushed it. The Corsair stopped, gawking.

"Not a very good idea." Muten Roushi opened his hand, and the cutlass's pieces fell onto the sand.

The Corsair gripped the cutlass with both hands and held it toward Kuririn, its teeth gritted.

_He's not as strong as the Corsair earlier. Or smart. _Kuririn disappeared. The Corsair looked around, swinging its cutlass in all directions. Kuririn reappeared behind it and kicked its back, sending it into the wall. Sand fell on it as it disintegrated.

"Definitely easier than before."

* * *

Yamcha ran toward the Corsair. The Corsair remained in place, its cutlasses on opposite sides of its body. Yamcha threw a fist toward its head. The action appeared to be a blur to the Corsair, and the punch connected. It flew across the corridor. It fell and skidded, water splashing on both sides of it.

Yamcha flipped over it and stomped on its face, stopping it. The Corsair thrust its cutlass into Yamcha's knee. Yamcha stomped on the Corsair's head repeatedly. The Corsair did not remove its cutlass.

_As much as it'll hurt… _Yamcha pulled his leg away. The cutlass was removed, and Yamcha flinched.

The Corsair stood and then jumped to Yamcha. It swiped its cutlasses. Yamcha backflipped. The Corsair ran toward Yamcha, its cutlasses outstretched. Yamcha grabbed both its cutlasses.

"You're a little too slow for me." Yamcha flipped the Corsair into the ground. It landed headfirst and disintegrated.

"That wasn't too bad." Yamcha looked at Kuririn, who had also finished. "What did you say about this being too hard?"

"You didn't have trouble because you weren't fighting three at once."

A hiss came from the shoreline. Puar sped behind Yamcha, and Oolong ran behind Muten Roushi, who stood at the top of the stairs. Four Goyones floated at the cave entrance in front of Muten Roushi.

"Humans," one Goyone said. "They're back, and now they're trying to take over our territory."

"We must defeat them," another said.

Muten Roushi grabbed Oolong's wrist and ran behind Yamcha and Kuririn. "This training is for you, not me. You two'd better get going."

"We both take on two?" Yamcha said.

"Yep," Kuririn said.

The Goyones swam toward Yamcha and Kuririn, their spears outstretched, and Yamcha and Kuririn ran toward them.

Kuririn jumped toward one. The Goyone swiped its spear. Kuririn kicked it out of its hand. He slammed his foot between its eyes. He landed, and the Goyone fell on its side.

The other Goyone tossed the fallen spear. The first Goyone stood, catching it. They swam toward Kuririn, one coming from the front, the other coming from the side. Kuririn jumped, and the Goyones crashed into each other.

Kuririn watched from above. _That would've been a great display of teamwork if they'd counted on me jumping._

He stomped on their heads with one foot each. He landed behind them. The Goyones stood.

Kuririn flipped over them. The Goyones turned so that they faced him when he landed.

One Goyone threw its spear toward Kuririn's neck while the other swam toward him. Kuririn caught the spear and tossed it sideways while the Goyone thrust its spear into Kuririn's stomach. It pushed the spear further in. Kuririn grabbed the spear using both hands and pulled.

The other Goyone picked up its spear and thrust it toward Kuririn's neck. Kuririn swayed his head and then kicked the Goyone. The Goyone flew backward.

Kuririn lost his balance and fell on top of the Goyone before him. He released a cry, as the spear had buried itself deeper into his stomach. He stood, the Goyone lifted with him. He pulled the spear out, the Goyone holding onto it, and threw it into the wall. He jumped to the wall and punched the Goyone's eye. The Goyone disintegrated.

Kuririn landed. The remaining Goyone thrust its spear into Kuririn's open wound.

_Not again. _Kuririn grabbed the spear, pulled it out, and spun it, the Goyone spinning with it. The Goyone slammed into the wall.

"Should've let go." Kuririn flipped the Goyone into the ground, and it disintegrated.

* * *

Yamcha ran toward the Goyones, holding out fists. The Goyones charged toward him, their spears outstretched. Yamcha smashed his fists into the Goyones' faces at the same time. He kept running, the Goyones attached to his fists, until the Goyones slammed into the wall.

One Goyone thrust its spear toward Yamcha's stomach. Yamcha grabbed the spear and broke it in half using both hands. The Goyones slid onto the ground.

"No weapon to use now." Yamcha dropped the spear's halves. "Now what're you gonna do?"

The Goyone opened its mouth. It reached inside and pulled out a saliva-covered spear.

Yamcha scrunched up his face. "O-okay. I wasn't expecting that."

The Goyones threw their spears toward him. Yamcha jumped in place, and the spears flew under him, landing in the wall opposite them.

As he was in midair, the Goyones pulled out more spears from their mouths and threw those. Yamcha caught the spears, broke them in half, and dropped them.

As Yamcha caught the spears, the Goyones pulled out more spears. Yamcha landed, one broken spear piercing his left foot.

"Ouch!" Yamcha grabbed his foot and hopped in a circle. One Goyone threw its spear. Yamcha ducked, and the spear flew over him. The other threw its spear. Yamcha swayed, and the spear flew past him.

Yamcha flipped over the Goyones, the Goyones withdrawing more spears. While he was in midair, the Goyones thrust their spears. The spears buried themselves in his stomach and chest.

As Yamcha landed, the Goyones took out more spears. The Goyones swam toward him and stabbed their spears in his sides. They pushed, further embedding the spears. Yamcha grabbed each spear with one hand and pulled. The spears came out, and he lifted the Goyones via the spears. He threw them in the air. He jumped higher than them. He stomped on one Goyone and then stomped on the other repeatedly, as though he were climbing stairs. He continued until they disintegrated.

Both his feet landed on spears. He yelped and jumped backward.

"Yamcha-sama, are you okay?" Puar whizzed around his head.

Yamcha pulled out the remaining spears. "Yeah, Puar, I'm fine."

Kuririn smirked and crossed his arms. "So, what did you think that time? I didn't have that much trouble with my monsters, by the way."

"W-well, it wasn't that bad." Yamcha's smile twitched. "They may have tried to make sushi out of me, but it wasn't that bad."

"Liar."

"Pfft."

Yamcha and Kuririn walked toward the stairs.

"You two know the rules," Muten Roushi said. "Running at all times."

The group ran toward the stairs, Puar holding onto Yamcha's shoulder, Muten Roushi gripping Oolong's wrist.

A red time gate appeared before the group. Everyone stopped.

Yamcha groaned. "Now what?"

"I've never seen anything like that." Muten Roushi eyed Yamcha and Kuririn. "You two, get ready to fight whatever comes out of there."

"Yes, Muten Roushi-sama." Kuririn made a battle stance.

"Even after all the fighting we did." Yamcha sighed. "You got it." He copied Kuririn.

The time gate disappeared, leaving a red-haired girl in its place. Her back faced the group. Muten Roushi and Oolong blushed, and they looked the girl from top to bottom. Out of the corner of his eye, Muten Roushi saw Yamcha begin to pounce. He held out his hand and shook his head.

"But—"

"Hush. She doesn't know we're here yet."

"Whew. Thank goodness I made it." She looked around. "Looks like I'm not in Veniccio like I wanted, though. This looks like Ocean's Roar Cave. The time travel might not have gone the way it should've. I hope I'm in the right time."

She turned around, facing the group gawking at her, Puar quaking.

"Sorry to scare you all. I'm looking for two guys. One has blond hair and wears a hat all the time, and the other has black, spiky hair. Have you seen them?"

Muten Roushi stepped closer to her. "Are you talking about Max and Gokuu, miss?"

Monica's smile grew. "You know them already? That saves me a lot of trouble. Can you take me to where they are?"

Muten Roushi ran to her side as Yamcha picked up the chest. "We would gladly take you to where they are. Follow us."

She began following them out of the cave, staring at Muten Roushi with a raised brow. "If Max and Gokuu have already made friends with you all, I guess I can trust you, too. I'm Monica."

Oolong, who walked beside her, said, "I'm Oolong. Hi."

Monica stepped away. "Y-you talk."

Oolong narrowed his eyes. _She's not very bright, is she?_

The rest of the group introduced themselves to her.

"Gokuu said something about saving you earlier," Kuririn said. "What was that all about?"

"I'll explain when we meet up with him and Max."

As they walked up the stairs, Monica said, "So, how did Max and Gokuu meet you all?"

"We're Gokuu's friends," Kuririn said. "We just met Max a few hours ago. We came here to train for the next Tenkaichi Budoukai."

Monica eyed the wall. "There's another one a few months away for people who use weapons. Max and I are entering."

"We'll be sure to cheer you on," Muten Roushi said. "If you'd like, I can train you a little."

"But you only train people in martial arts," Yamcha said.

"My training is useful for everyone."

"You trained Gokuu, though, right? Max and I will end up almost as strong as him if you train us." She chuckled. "That's actually kinda scary. But, sure, you can train us."

Muten Roushi bent so that his ear was to Kuririn's mouth.

"I'm thinking of asking for a payment."

Kuririn narrowed his eyes. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"

The group's feet fell on the shore. They walked toward Ocean's Roar Cave's entrance.

"We're at the beach, so I'm sure I'll see a little more of her soon. If I'm lucky, she'll change into a bikini."

"Have Max and Gokuu brought you up to speed on what's happened so far?" Monica said.

Muten Roushi straightened. "Max was in the middle of it, but then this sea dragon ran away."

"I think you mean a Shigura."

"Some rabbit had it as his pet," Yamcha said. "I think that its family was calling it or something, so it ran away. That rabbit wants us to get it back." He glared at Kuririn. "Actually, Kuririn was supposed to get it, but he got too tired."

"I did not."

"I've never met this 'rabbit' or his Shigura," Monica said, "so I can't make a judgment myself. If he's that upset over losing his Shigura, then we should try to find him. Why are you all heading out?"

Yamcha held the chest higher. "We found this while looking for him. We're going to take it back to Max for safekeeping."

"Wow, what's in it?"

"Zeni and Gilda."

"I've heard of Zeni, but never used it. My kingdom uses Gilda."

The group cocked their heads as they walked onto Veniccio's coast. Eight piers in two rows, four in each row, lay in the ocean extended from the original pier. Four iron houses sat on the four piers closest to the shore, the one closest to the original pier painted red, the one beside it painted blue, the next painted green, and the last painted purple. A shop boat sat between the blue and green iron houses. Max, Buruma, and Pau stood in front of the green house.

"Do you mind if I move in this one?" Buruma said.

Max scratched the back of his head. "Well, I'm not sure if we need anyone specific there yet."

Buruma looked past Max at the group running toward them. Max and Pau took notice and turned around.

Pau's body sunk. "Still no Shingala."

"I'm sure they have a good reason." Max waved. His eyes brightened as he saw a red-haired girl toward the back of the group. He grinned and waved faster.

The group ran up the pier to Max, Buruma, and Pau. Monica ran to the front of the group, meeting Max.

"Monica, you're—are you—did Griffon—I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

Monica raised a hand. "Yes, I'm fine. Griffon did do something. Don't worry about it. Where's Gokuu?"

"He's getting Geostones. We decided to have him go through Ocean's Roar Cave and pick up all the Geostones so we could restore Luna Lab, without defeating the monsters. That way, the scientists could come up with a way to get back to Griffon's time, and we could save you as soon as possible. But it looks like you saved yourself."

Monica's expression softened. "I could tell you were rushing to save me. I really appreciate that. I'll explain everything when Gokuu gets back."

"Oh, right, before I forget." Max withdrew the Serpent Slicer from his pouch. "This is for you. It's Lin's gift for restoring Starlight Canyon."

Monica took it. She swung it twice. "It handles pretty well. What was Lin doing with this?"

"I dunno, but it might have something to do with that fact that she's a sage now."

Monica's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "What?"

"Yep. She replaced Crest. Uh, I guess Gokuu and I could explain what happened on the lighthouse while you were unconscious."

"Please do."

Yamcha placed the chest on the ground.

"Where's Shingala?" Pau said.

"Don't get all panicky." Oolong pointed at the chest. "We just came back to bring this chest for safekeeping. We're going right back in to get your pet."

"He's not a pet. He's my friend. You have to hurry and find him. There's no telling what's happened to him."

"Calm down. We'll get him back."

Pau crossed his arms. _I'm about to get Shingala back myself._

Yamcha opened the chest. Everyone, save Pau, peered into it, the treasure illuminating their faces golden.

"See, it has Zeni and Gilda in it," Yamcha said. "I haven't seen Gilda in ages."

"But I thought everyone used Gilda," Max said. "I've never heard of Zeni before."

Yamcha's eyes widened. "Never heard of it? You still pay for things with Gilda?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, Palm Brinks was cut off from everyone, so we never had a need to use Zeni."

"Zeni is what the majority of the world uses as their currency," Monica said. "Except my kingdom. We still use Gilda."

"You must be from a poor kingdom, then," Oolong said.

"I am not. My kingdom is doing very well." She paused. "It was before Griffon, anyway."

"Your kingdom was attacked, too, was it?" Muten Roushi said.

Monica clenched her hands. "Yeah."

"What's with this whole Zeni and Gilda thing?" Max said.

Muten Roushi stood straighter. "Before Griffon destroyed the world, Gilda was the currency that the majority of the world used. Only a few places used Zeni. Griffon destroyed most of the towns and cities that used Gilda. One of the few places that wasn't destroyed is Palm Brinks. I think that because Griffon destroyed the majority of the towns and cities that used Gilda, the most-used currency became Zeni."

"But in my time," Monica said, "the entire world uses Gilda. I've never even heard of Zeni before."

"Your time?" Puar said.

"Yeah, I'll explain everything when Gokuu gets back."

"I'm guessing that, somehow, Gilda became the most-used currency in Monica's time," Max said. "Who knows how?"

Gokuu sprinted out of the cave, carrying three Geostones. He jumped onto the pier and then skidded to a stop beside Max.

He grinned. "Hey, Monica, is that you?"

"Sure is."

"How'd you get back?"

"We should get everyone caught up on everything, and I'll explain what happened to me while I was in Griffon's palace."

* * *

Max, Monica, and Gokuu finished explaining their adventures, Max and Gokuu finished explaining their adventures without Monica, and Monica finished explaining her experiences in Griffon's palace.

"Wow, quite a bit happened at the lighthouse," Monica said. "You don't feel guilty about Crest, do you, Gokuu?"

"A little. We were supposed to save him, not kill him."

"At least we got a good replacement for him, and Lin can talk to him without him physically being there."

"I'm glad you're alright, Monica," Max said. "I'm sorry about hitting you so hard earlier."

"Don't worry about it. You had to stop me somehow. Besides, if you hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to go in Griffon's castle, and I wouldn't have been able to use that energy." She grinned. "That energy was amazing. When I dented the vault, I didn't get hurt. If we could use some of it during our fight with Griffon, we'd have a much better chance at winning. I'm not sure I believe him when he said that the all the energy in the palace wasn't enough to kill him."

"Like you said, there's something inside him keeping him alive," Max said. "If we could somehow get to that something, we could kill it."

"Would we need to kill Griffon next?" Gokuu said.

"Who knows?" Monica said. "Do you think that the thing inside of him is controlling him?"

Everyone shrugged, some saying, "Dunno."

Monica eyed the green iron house. "I kinda get the feeling that it is. Think about it. Griffon's been watching us. He's seen everything we've done to help the monsters, even though they've attacked us for no reason. Whatever happened to him in the past has convinced him that all humans are bad, and we're proving him wrong. He likes us, but this thing inside him doesn't.

"Also, if Griffon wanted the last Dragonball, he could probably just take it from us. After all, he's sent things from his time to ours. It may be able to work the other way around. If he's as powerful as he says he is, then he could do anything to us at anytime."

Puar hid behind Yamcha. "Anything at anytime? That's scary."

"That's why we gotta beat him up quick." Gokuu cracked his knuckles. "As soon as Luna Lab's back, we'll go right to his time and beat him up so he doesn't do anything like this again."

"We should go back to Palm Brinks for now," Max said. "We need to recruit Claire and Donny. Let's take the train."

Pau turned toward Ocean's Roar Cave. "I'll stay here just in case Shingala comes back. Hurry back. I need you guys to find Shingala for me." _If they don't hurry, I'll go in myself._

"Relax," Oolong said. "I'm sure that sea dragon can take care of himself."

The group walked toward the pier leading to Veniccio Station, Pau glaring at Oolong.


	38. The Call

**Chapter Thirty-eight: The Call**

Clanking noises echoed throughout the station as Cedric, Borneo, and Erik fixed the bridge. One occasionally reached inside the toolbox behind them, without looking. He then pulled out another tool. Their backs faced the group.

Monica looked at the group and put a finger to her mouth. She tiptoed behind the working men. She tapped Cedric on the shoulder, and Cedric looked at her. He gawked. He moved his mouth up and down, as if talking. He released a squeak.

Borneo and Erik turned around. Their eyes widened. Erik backed away while pointing at her, almost falling onto the railroad.

"Monica, is that you?" Erik said, his voice airy.

"We must be dreaming," Borneo said. "That can't be…"

Monica chuckled. "It's me, guys."

Erik pointed to the train. "B-but you were _all _the way in Griffon's time. How'd you get from _all _the way back there—" He pointed to the wall—"to _all _the way back here?"

"Max's Atlamillia lent mine its power."

"Griffon do anything to you?" Cedric said.

"No. I used my Atlamillia before he could get to me."

"Good." He stood. "We'll get the train started up."

They ran into the front car.

Monica wiped her forehead. "Whew." She faced the group. "I know I shouldn't have lied to them about Griffon, but I didn't want them to worry about me or ask a million questions. Let's get on the train."

Monica watched the group pass her, save Max and Gokuu, who stopped before her.

"What's wrong?" Max said.

"I also didn't want to spend the whole ride telling them what happened to me. I wanted to talk to you two about something."

Max's eyebrows slanted downward. "Is it about what Griffon did to you?"

She paused. "Sort of. It's actually encouraged me to tell you what happened that night."

"What night?" Gokuu said.

"You'll see. We should sit in an empty car." She glanced at the car the group had entered. "This is kinda personal."

* * *

Monica sat across from Max and Gokuu, clenching her hands, alternating between looking each of them in the eyes. "While I was in Griffon's palace, he showed me the fight between Gaspard and my father—the fight that ended in Father's death. When I was explaining it in front of Gokuu's friends, I left out that I'd gotten a lot of crying out. I really needed it, too. I'd been keeping it all in for a while.

"I think I'm ready to talk about it. I know this sounds a little strange, but would you mind if I told you what happened that night?"

"Go ahead," Max said while Gokuu said, "No, I don't mind."

Monica smiled. "Thanks, guys. This means a lot to me.

"I had just finished finding a girl who had gone to Jurak Mall alone. I'd escorted her back to my city. The workers from Gundorada Workshop were in the middle of building an alternate route to Jurak Mall, a route where monsters couldn't go. At that time, Rainbow Butterfly Wood was the only way to get to Jurak Mall, and monsters lived there.

"A lot of the monsters in my era are the same kinds as the ones in this era. Some of them look a little different, and they're a little stronger than the ones in this time.

"Until we finished the construction, the guys from Gundorada Workshop were using their planes to shuttle people back and forth from my city to Jurak Mall. They had taken off that day, though, to build machines to take on Griffon.

"It was also raining. I could hear a few rumbles of thunder in the distance. Each rumble was louder than the last.

"I guess that girl really wanted to go to the mall.

"Her parents had come to me and told me what had happened. They wanted some of my city's soldiers to escort her back, but I told them that Griffon could attack anytime, and as many soldiers as possible needed to stay in the city. That's how I ended up looking for her.

"Her parents were really worried, so I told that girl off a little on our way back. Just the basic things, like, 'Make sure you always tell your parents where you're going,' and 'Don't go in dangerous places.' She looked like she regretted it, so I don't think she'll do it again. Fortunately, she hadn't gone very far into Rainbow Butterfly Wood, and she hadn't encountered any monsters. She didn't have any scratches or anything, either.

"'Sorry, princess,' the girl said. She had black hair in braided pigtails, if it matters. 'I know I'm not supposed to leave the city, but I wanted to go to the mall, and this is the only way to get there.'

"'That's alright, but there are monsters out there. You could've gotten badly hurt.'

"'I was going to sneak past them all somehow. Maybe stay behind the trees or something.'

"She kept talking, but I stopped listening. For good reason, too. A huge fire had started in my city, where my castle was. It lit the entire sky orange. A red time gate appeared, as large as the one we saw at the lighthouse. Gaspard and Dr. Jaming's battleship emerged, covering up the two moons.

"I balled my hands into fists. 'They're here.'

"The girl looked at me. Her eyes were wide. 'Wh-who's here? Are those Griffon's soldiers?'

"'Sure are.' I clasped the girl's hands. 'It'll be okay. Nothing will happen. I'll make sure of that. You stay here.'

"I looked at the two bodyguards behind us. Bodyguards followed me, my father, and my mother everywhere. You get used to them after a while.

"They had all gone through a special training program. The training's pretty realistic, so they were trained well.

"'You two, stay with her and make sure she doesn't get hurt,' I said.

"'Yes, ma'am.'

"I tightened my grip on my Long Sword as I ran out of the forest, toward my blazing city. My silhouetted castle was still standing. A bomb from the battleship lit it up every once in a while. It wasn't on fire, but the rest of my city was, particularly the bushes surrounding the pavement.

"Water jetted out of firefighters' hoses, but the fire didn't seem to get any smaller. The rain wasn't helping any.

"Now that I think about it, those were probably Evil Flames, like the ones at the lighthouse. Using weapons would be the only way to kill them. No one knew that at the time, though, and everyone probably wouldn't figure it out until later.

"I think this was one of the stops on their hit list. They had already destroyed Starlight Temple and killed Crest. They had just gotten Gundorada Workshop, too, which is close to Veniccio. We should be going there next to restore it. Anyway, its workers were protecting women and children from Griffon Soldiers.

"I heard someone yelp and fall hard on the ground. I turned and ran toward them. A woman was lying on her back. Even though she was looking up at a Griffon Soldier from between her fingers, I could tell her eyes were huge, so much so that I thought her eyeballs would pop out of their sockets if they grew any bigger. The Griffon Soldier's back was to me. I leaped and sliced it in half. It disintegrated.

"The woman removed her hands from her eyes, which were still huge. 'Th-thank you so much, princess.'

"'You're welcome. Stay behind the guys from Gundorada Workshop. They can hold their own.'

"She scrambled behind a workshop employee, and I continued onto a path leading to the courtyard in front of my castle. A castle guard met me halfway and ran alongside me.

"'Thank goodness you're alright. Ma'am, those monsters are in your mother's room.'

"'What?' My mother can't defend herself. She doesn't know how to fight.

"Lightning struck in the distance as the guard said, 'They've put up some kind of barrier. We can't break down the door or come in through the windows.'

"We ran into the courtyard. Griffon Soldiers were attacking my people. Most of them defended themselves with swords and staves. Others who didn't know how to fight stayed behind those who did. The bushes and trees around the courtyard had become balls of flame.

"'Stay here and help fend off these monsters,' I told the guard.

"'But, princess, if something were to happen to you—'

"I gave him a smile. 'Nothing will happen to me.' He knew I could defend myself. 'The people here really need your help, and I'm sure there are plenty of guards in the castle. Right?'

"He averted his eyes and scratched his sideburn.

"I faced him. 'What happened to the castle guards?'

"'There are superpowered Griffon Soldiers inside the castle. The guards are having a hard time fighting against them, and some of them are being killed.

"My guards were specially trained. How could Griffon's rogues hold their—no, actually win against them?

"I sent the guard away to fight, telling him to make sure no other Griffon Soldiers got inside the castle.

"I pushed open the large doors to my castle's foyer. Splatters of blood were everywhere, and my guards were scattered on the floor, some in piles. The chandelier was on the floor, broken.

"I ran into the hallway leading to my mother's room. The red carpet had been burned away to the point that only pieces of it remained. Black lines and ash marked the walls. They had set fire to my castle, too.

"How could something like that happen to my kingdom? We're way more experienced than Griffon and his soldiers, and we have one of the finest security systems in the world.

"I needed to get to my mother before they hurt her, abducted her. I ran down the hallway until coming close to its end, where there were two large doors, smaller than the doors at the entrance, but still large. I pushed them open.

"Two Griffon Soldiers stood at my mother's sides. They glowed golden, like they had drunk Stamina Drinks.

"A tear rolled down Mother's cheek, and she covered her mouth. 'Monica, you're okay. Thank goodness.'

"I flashed her a smile and then jumped behind one of the soldiers. I sliced it in half from head to toe. Before its two halves could reach the floor, they disintegrated.

"I ran around Mother to the other soldier and stabbed it in the heart. It disintegrated instantly.

"Even though I had just saved my mother's life, I still had a sick feeling in my stomach. First of all, I could get in Mother's room. No barrier or anything. My guards don't lie to me, or anyone, for that matter. Second of all, those Griffon Soldiers didn't put up a fight. They might have been trying to distract me. Never a good thing.

"Mother wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into an embrace.

"I looked up at her. I get my red hair from her, but her hair's a lighter shade of red than mine. Not pink, but lighter. She always keeps her hair in a bun. She says loose hair is too annoying. Um, anyway, I asked her what happened.

"She let me go, but her hands firmly held my shoulders. 'Whoever was on that battleship set fire to the city, including this castle. Our firefighters have put out the fire in the castle and have gone to help with the fire outside, but I think the man on that battleship is still running around here somewhere.'

"So, the fire that was used on my castle wasn't made up of Evil Flames. As for the man on the battleship, she probably meant Gaspard, the one who had killed Crest, making himself widely known around my kingdom.

"'When those Griffon Soldiers first came in here,' Mother said, 'they were glowing golden. They easily killed my bodyguards. They put up a barrier around the door and windows so others couldn't get in. They never touched me, only stayed at my sides.'

"I looked at the floor. 'A guard from earlier told me there was a barrier, too, but I could come in here without a problem.' I looked at her. 'Uh-oh. I think this was just a distraction for me. The Griffon Soldiers here put up a barrier that only I could pass through so that I would have to come here and save you, not anyone else. They let me kill them.'

"A castle guard burst into the room, panting. He was covered in blood. I got the feeling that the majority of it was his. 'Monsters…everywhere… More…in the king's room… Stronger…' He fell. He was dead. I promised myself that I would give a fine funeral for him and the other guards who fell that day.

"The sinking feeling in my stomach increased tenfold. 'The Griffon Soldiers must've been trying to keep me away from Father's room. Those Stamina Drinks must've helped them kill the guards here.'

"'Hurry, Monica. And be careful. I have an extremely bad feeling about this.'

"'I will, you can be sure of that.' I turned to leave.

"'I love you.'

"I looked back at her. 'I love you, too.'

"I left Mother's room, sprinted down the hallway, and ran up the spiral staircase, taking two stairs at a time. I landed on the top stair and pivoted to the right. I quickened my pace.

"That guard said the monsters were stronger. I'm pretty sure that that meant they had drunk Stamina Drinks.

"Two Griffon Soldiers, glowing golden, came into my view. I held up my Long Sword and charged toward one. The Griffon Soldier held up its hand, blocking my slash. We began pushing against each other.

"That Griffon Soldier was holding back. Drinking a Stamina Drink should've made it way stronger than that. But I was pushing it back. Now I knew that the Griffon Soldiers were holding back against me. They hadn't been ordered to kill me yet, but they were free to kill my guards. They were distracting me.

"I flinched and glanced behind me. The other Griffon Soldier's sword-like hand pierced my upper back.

"I flipped over the one behind me, forcing its hand out my back in the process. I didn't have time to fight_._ Who knew what those monsters could be doing to my father?

"I unleashed a multitude of fireballs, not even caring how powerful they were, just hoping that their combined power would be enough to kill them.

"The flames covering their bodies faded away. They had no scorch marks or any signs of being burnt or hurt.

"'Damn. I don't have time for this.' I focused my energy, piling it up inside my body. Then, I channeled the energy into my sword. My sword began to glow purple.

"I jumped close to the ceiling and then fell sword-first. Purple enveloped the area where Griffon's monsters and I were. The ground shook, and the Soldiers fell on the floor.

"I thrust my sword toward one's heart. It held out its sword-like hand. My Long Sword snapped in half against the Soldier's hand. Its other half, part of the blade, landed near the wall.

"I held the palm of my hand to the Soldier's face and released a fireball. The fireball exploded. The Soldier rubbed its face with its hands to try and extinguish the flame faster. I did the same to the other Soldier, and it reacted the same way. As they snuffed out the flames, I ran over to the wall, grabbed the Long Sword's other half, and sprinted through the hallway.

"I rummaged through my pouch. No Repair Powder. I put my broken sword inside.

"I heard footsteps behind me. The Griffon Soldiers were running after me.

"Two more Griffon Soldiers, also glowing golden, crashed through the window and landed in front of me, blocking my way. I turned around to face the Griffon Soldiers behind me. No way I could get past them, either. I faced the other Soldiers and readied myself. I didn't have my sword, but I could at least dodge their attacks.

"I didn't have my sword… I definitely could've been more prepared that day. No Repair Powder, no backup swords, no nothing, except a spare set of clothes, the clothes I'm wearing right now. I knew that Griffon could, would attack. Why hadn't I prepared adequately?

"The two Griffon Soldiers in front of me leaped toward me, their sword-like hands lifted above their heads. I flipped over to the wall, near a decorative knight holding a sword. Since my family is so obsessed with swords, at least my father and I, we have those kinds of decorative pieces all over the castle. We allow anyone into the castle, like you let everyone into your house, Max, but we use Luna Lab's security system to make sure they don't have anything dangerous with them. We keep barriers around the decorative swords so kids can't get their hands on them and start swinging them around and poke out an eye or something. Only me, my father, my mother, and the guards can get to them.

"Sorry, I keep getting off-topic. I inched toward the knight and then looked from it to the sword.

"A Griffon Soldier leaped toward me. Its hands slammed against the floor as I jumped and grabbed the sword. I landed and then swung the sword once to get a feel for it. I had never used those decorative swords before. There was no need. Even while I trained with Father, he had me use cheaper, lightweight swords, like Bone Rapiers. When I became good enough, he gave me a Long Sword.

"Anyway, one of the Griffon Soldiers jumped in front of me. I let four fireballs loose, moving my hand to different parts of its body with each shot. While it tried to snuff out the flames, I stabbed its heart. It fell to its knees and disintegrated.

"Another Griffon Soldier landed in front of me. I swung my sword horizontally. The Griffon Soldier swung its hands vertically, like it was trying to chop my wrist off. I was too fast for it. My sword hit its side first. My sword didn't pierce its stomach, but it didn't break. I don't know how decorative swords can be stronger than ones used for fighting, like my Long Sword, but whatever. I continued my slash, slicing it in half. It halves disintegrated.

"As the third Griffon Soldier was in midair, I let four fireballs loose. Once again, I moved my hand with each shot so the fireballs hit different parts of its body. Its whole body was on fire. It fell on the floor and began to roll back and forth to extinguish the flames. I stabbed its throat as it rolled, and it disintegrated.

"Rolling on the floor seems like a very human-like thing to do. Maybe those Griffon Soldiers aren't monsters without minds of their own. Maybe they're people, too. I know that Lin told you guys the same thing, that they act of their own free will, but I still find it hard to believe. Why would they want to help Griffon destroy the world?

"I charged toward the last Griffon Soldier, pointing the blade of my sword away from my body, and the Griffon Soldier charged toward me, its hands lagging behind it. I guess they do that to run faster, but that leaves them completely defenseless.

"When I came close to it, I swung my sword upward. The Griffon Soldier backflipped, dodging my attack. It ran toward me. I flipped over it. As it turned around to face me, I drove my sword into its heart. The last Soldier, thank goodness, disintegrated.

"I ran as fast as I could toward the throne room. Those fights still felt too easy. They easily could've killed me with that power, the power they used to kill all my castle guards. Now I knew that they were trying to distract me. I hoped I wasn't too late.

"If I had gotten there sooner, my father and I definitely could've killed Gaspard before he killed us. Father's a formidable force all by himself, but with me there, too, we would've been unstoppable.

"I arrived at the throne room's door and put my back against it. I put my ear against the door. I didn't hear anything. Maybe my father had already killed those monsters.

"I thrust the doors open. I had to look incredibly surprised and stupid at that moment.

"I looked from Gaspard's back to my dead father, to Gaspard's hand, which held a long, red, curved blade, to my dead father, whose Holy Daedalus Blade was clutched in his hand. My eyes were drawn to Gaspard when he turned around and chuckled. You have no idea how much hate, scorn, anger welled up inside me when he did that. That movement was so smug and arrogant, almost like he boasted that he killed my father.

"I held up my sword, and my body trembled. He held the palm of his hand toward the wall and created a time gate. When you're really skilled at using magic, you can do that. I didn't think that Gaspard had that kind of power inside him. I was sure he had gotten that power from Griffon and used it to kill Father. I was mistaken.

"He walked through the time gate, and it disappeared. Lightning seemed to strike just outside the window, lighting up the room.

"I let my hand fall to my side and then dropped the sword. I stared at the spot where Gaspard disappeared for a long time, looking like a fool. I didn't do anything, just stared.

"I remember my exact thoughts at that time: _Gaspard, Father. Gaspard murdered him. Father's gone. No, he's not. He can't be. How could he lose to someone like Gaspard?_

"My eyes drifted to my father, lying on his stomach, dead. I bent next to him, and my knee became covered in his warm blood. I tapped his cheek with the back of my hand.

"'Father.'

"He remained still.

"I tapped him harder and put my mouth to his ear.

"'Father!'

"I stared at his motionless body. He wouldn't lose to Gaspard. Not in a million years.

"I knew what would definitely wake him up. I picked up the decorative sword and put its blade against Father's cheek until a trickle of blood ran down to his chin. I removed it. He remained motionless.

"I think I blacked out, because I don't remember what happened after that. I must've woken up after a little while. I was still on one knee, staring at Father.

"'Damn…' My voice cracked. I clenched my hands and sniffed.

"Before I could let it all out, I heard, or told myself, I'm not really sure, this:

"_Keep going._

"I looked up at the spot the time gate had been in. 'Yes, I must keep going.' I stood up. 'Yes, Father would do the same. Always put the kingdom first.' That's what he always said.

"The Atlamillia on Father's wrist shone blue. It floated over to me and slid on my wrist. It was now my job to protect it.

"A beam of blue light shot from my Atlamillia, to the spot where Gaspard's time gate had been. Another blue time gate appeared. I slowly walked toward it until coming within a few inches of it.

"_Go. Hurry._

"I ran into the time gate. The world around me brightened, became white. I tried to keep my eyes open, but couldn't.

"The brightness faded, and I opened my eyes. It was nighttime. I stood behind a statue in what looked like an empty park. I could faintly hear circus music. I looked past the statue, and I could see houses in the distance.

"This place had to be Palm Brinks, the town Elena and the others were talking about_._"

Monica saw Max's body twitch. He shifted in his seat, his eyes widening momentarily, and then blinked twice.

"I held my Atlamillia to my face, examining it. It was almost as if it knew exactly where to go. I lowered my Atlamillia and looked forward.

"I closed my eyes and imagined a preteen boy in rags, his bangs covering his eyes, how I thought I'd look if I'd been born a boy. A homeless boy, anyway. If I were really a boy, I'm sure I'd look a lot cleaner. There could be a problem if someone, like Flotsam, knew who I really was.

"I relaxed and concentrated on the boy. A yellow light enveloped my body. It disappeared. I looked at my rags and patted my hair. I was a guy.

"Now that that was done, I had to go find Gerald. He was the one who held the Atlamillia. I thought he'd be at that circus.

"I followed the music, staying in the shadows. I didn't see anyone as I ran, so I assumed that they were all at the circus.

"I arrived at what seemed to be Main Street. A door slammed. A blond boy ran out of a maintenance shop. Something on his stomach glinted red. That had to be the Atlamillia.

"I darted from alley to alley, following the boy. But why did he have it? I didn't think he was Gerald, at least from going off of Elena's descriptions.

"A young man behind a drinks cart said, 'Hey, Max, heading to the circus?'

"The blond boy slowed down. 'Yeah. I'm trying to get there before it's too late.'

"The man looked at his watch. 'Ah, you'd better hurry, then. It's about to start.'

"'Right.' He sped up.

"So his name was Max. Elena had said that she'd given birth to a boy named Max.

"I squinted my eyes to look at Max more closely. Max did look an awful lot like the way Elena had described him. Gerald must not have been able to touch the Atlamillia anymore, so he gave it to Max. But, even if Max did hold the Atlamillia, he could still be just like Griffon. I had to make sure he wasn't.

"Max stopped in front of a clown at the circus tent's entrance flap.

"'You need a ticket to go in,' the clown said.

"Max began rummaging in his pouch. 'I probably should've taken it out on my way here.'

"There was my chance.

"Max took out his ticket. I ran out of the shadows, toward him. He held the ticket out.

"'Here you go.'

"I snatched the ticket and kept running.

"'Hey, my ticket!'

"I would've felt bad for Max, but I still didn't know if he was good or evil. Appearances can be deceiving. I've been taught that lesson time and time again.

"I looked around. Now I had to find a place to hide, but it had to be someplace where Max could still find me. I had to be convincing, after all.

"A balloon cart stood near the town square's opening. That was perfect. I hid behind it, awaiting Max's arrival.

"We all know what happens after that. Max passes my test, Flotsam chases Max, Max goes through the sewers…"

"You, you said my mother's name a few times. Is she…?"

"I have a feeling that you already know now." She looked him in the eyes. "Max, your mother's from the future."

Max stared into Monica's eyes, his eyes becoming distant. "My mother's…from the future." A half-question, half-statement. _That's why, all this time, she was gone. That's why I haven't seen her for so long. _"What exactly does she do there?"

Monica shook her head. "Sorry, but I'll have to act like your father for now. You'll have to find out yourself."

Max nodded. He looked at the window.

"Didja watch Max that entire time?"

"Yes. If something happened to Max, I'd have to save him, especially since he holds the Atlamillia. But he seemed to get on in the sewers pretty well. You did really well, Max, for having never fought before."

Max's eyes remained distant.

"Max, are you alright?"

Max stayed silent. Monica's eyes softened.

The trio looked out the window. They watched the scenery change from a green blur to a gray blur.

"I do wonder what happened to Griffon, though," Monica said. "He's stored all this energy and created a lot of monsters just in case of a human attack. The Toy Rock told me that a human named him. Maybe that human betrayed him, and that made him turn on all humans."

"You think somethin' happened to that human?"

"That was my first thought, too. We should ask Griffon about it sometime. I dunno if he'd be willing to tell us, but we could try."

Max had not listened to Monica or Gokuu. His gaze remained fixed on the window.

"We oughta try now. Hey, Griffon!"

Monica and Gokuu listened for Griffon's voice, but it never came.

When they neared Palm Brinks, Monica said, "It's early evening right now. Let's go straight to bed. We've been through so much lately. If we don't relax, we won't be able to think straight. Take it from me. Being a princess isn't easy."

"I wonder if the people from Palm Brinks got any better," Gokuu said.

"We'll find out soon."

The train began sliding to a stop. Max's eyes lost their haziness, and he sat up straighter.


	39. Back Home

**Chapter Thirty-nine: Back Home**

The train screeched to a halt inside Palm Brinks Station. The trio stood, and Kuririn and the others ran into the car.

"Sorry we isolated ourselves from you all," Monica said. "I was talking about something personal. I haven't known you all for that long, so I'd feel a little uncomfortable talking about it with you."

"That's okay, miss," Muten Roushi said. "We understand."

Buruma eyed Muten Roushi. _He's been awfully nice to Monica. He's not as aggressive as he was with me. Is he trying a more subtle approach to getting in her pants?_

"Yamcha, what'd you do with the treasure?" Gokuu said.

"Cedric put it in a secret compartment. He said that no one should be able to find it and, if someone does, Steve should be able to protect it."

The group left the train. The station was empty, save for the stationmaster and clerks behind two shops' counters.

The stationmaster waved as the group approached him. "Good evening. It's good to see you three back." He looked over Kuririn and the others. "I see you've brought some new friends."

"I've known them for a long time," Gokuu said.

"Max and I just met them ourselves," Monica said.

Kuririn and the others introduced themselves.

"How is everything?" Max said. It was the first time he spoke since Monica had finished talking.

"Much better. Mayor Need said that the damages may take a month to repair, but they've already been completely repaired. As far as the people go, well, they're still quite paranoid."

Monica shrugged. "Who can blame them?"

The group left the station. As they walked down the stairs, Max said, "Tomorrow, I'll go get Donny. Gokuu, since you've known Kamesennin and the others the longest, can you introduce them to everyone?"

"Uh-huh."

"Monica, I need you to recruit Claire."

Monica averted her eyes. "I'm not too sure about that, Max."

"Don't worry. She trusts you more than Donny first did."

"Actually, you'd be surprised."

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

Max stared at Monica for a moment and then nodded. "Alright. Let's rest for tonight. My house has plenty of beds."

They continued to Max's house. The town was empty, and lights illuminated the insides of houses.

* * *

Pau watched the sand as he walked across it, following Shingala's footprints, which led into the cave.

_It looks like the ocean's water washed away the rest of Shingala's footprints. From here on out, I'll have to ask monsters._

He ran through the cave until reaching a Geron.

"Excuse me, have you seen a Shigura anywhere?"

"Why, yes, I have. It took a Corsair's Luna Stone. Just whapped the Corsair with its head. Killed the Corsair instantly. It ran over to an exit gate, put the Stone in, and ran through."

"Thanks a lot." Pau began running through the cave. _Shingala killed a monster to get a Luna Stone? He usually isn't aggressive._

He arrived at the gate. A Luna Stone had been placed inside the indent. Pau touched the Luna Stone, and the gate opened. He ran under its opening.

Darkness surrounded him, but he continued to run. A faint blue light emanated some yards away. Pau ran faster, and the light grew, revealing itself to be a Luna Stone inside a gate's indent. When he reached the gate, he touched the Luna Stone, and it opened. Pau entered the next floor.

Pau asked a Goyone about Shingala. It had seen Shingala kill a Corsair using his head. Then, he took the Corsair's Luna Stone.

"I think I have an idea of what he did with it. Thanks."

Pau continued through many gates, hearing stories about how Shingala killed monsters and took their Luna Stones.

He arrived at a clearing. A mural had been painted on the wall opposite him and, facing it, was Shingala, a blue device on his head.

"Shingala."

Shingala whirled around. Pau took a step back. Shingala's eyes were tainted red.

"Sh-Shingala?"

He roared and then ran toward Pau, his head lowered as though about to headbutt him. Pau turned sideways and ran.

He looked at Shingala, who neared him with the passing seconds. "Shingala, what happened? Is something wrong?"

Shingala closed the gap. He swung his head, catching Pau in the side. Pau crashed into the mural. He slid into the water.

He lifted his head, his eyes half-lidded. "Sh-Shingala, why are you attacking me?"

Shingala ran toward him, teeth bared.

Pau staggered to his feet. "Don't you remember me?" He placed both hands on his chest. "It's me, Pau. You were lost, so you came to my cave. We used to play catch all the time."

Upon reaching Pau, Shingala swung his head into Pau's stomach. Pau slammed into the mural. Shingala rammed his head into Pau's stomach repeatedly.

"What's—" He grunted—"wrong—" Another grunt—"with you?"

Shingala continued his assault. Before and after each hit, Pau would see the device.

_Is that device making him do this? _

The world around Pau dimmed.

_If I took it off, would he stop?_

While Shingala drew his head back, Pau slammed his feet into the wall and then propelled himself sideways. Shingala's head rammed the mural, and Shingala reared back, roaring.

Pau fell into the shallow water. He pushed himself onto his feet.

As Shingala shook his head to recover from the hit, Pau jumped onto his neck. Pau climbed until reaching the device. He gripped its sides and pulled. The device did not move.

Shingala thrust his head backward, throwing Pau off. Pau landed near the entrance gate.

Shingala charged toward Pau. Pau bit his lip. He turned, touched the Luna Stone, and ran through the gate. He grabbed part of the gate and then pulled it downward. The gate turned, clicking into place. Pau heard Shingala slam into the gate and roar. He stared at the gate for some moments. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve as he walked away.

* * *

The next morning, the group met in Max's foyer.

"Everyone remember what they're supposed to do?" Monica said.

The group nodded.

The town bell rang five times. Then, it rang six times.

Monica turned to Max. "That didn't sound like the usual morning bell."

"That's because it was the town meeting bell," Max said. "It always rings in that tone five times, then it rings another number of times, which represents the time the meeting will start at. It rang six times just now. That means the meeting will be at six tonight. Mayor Need either uses that or word-of-mouth to tell everyone about a town meeting. Word spreads quickly around here, and when the whole town's empty, it's pretty easy to figure out that there's a meeting."

"In that case, we should all meet up at the station a little before six."

Everyone nodded, some saying, "Alright."

The trio went their separate ways, Gokuu leading Kuririn and the others, Max running toward the Underground Channel, and Monica walking to Claire's house.

* * *

"Since Max introduced me to everyone the first time I came here," Gokuu said, "I have to introduce you guys to everyone this time. I don't remember some of their names, though."

"It's fine," Buruma said. "They know you, right?"

"Yep."

Oolong watched people looking over their shoulders, some biting their nails. "These people look mighty nervous."

"Well, duh," Kuririn said. "Griffon attacked them a little while ago, remember?"

"I remember, idiot."

Some citizens took notice to them. A woman wearing a purple hat walked to them.

"Gokuu, are these your new friends?"

"No, they're my old friends. I've known them for a long time. Max, Monica, and I met up with them in Veniccio. That's where we are now."

"Maybe you can bring us up to date on everything that's happened at the meeting tonight."

"Yeah, we could." He pointed at Kuririn. "This is Kuririn." He pointed at Buruma. "This is Buruma." He pointed at Muten Roushi. "This is Kamesennin."

Buruma grabbed his wrist and lowered his hand. "Alright, alright. Wouldn't it be easier if we just introduced ourselves at the town meeting?"

"Max introduced me to everyone one by one, so I gotta do the same for you all."

"It's also more polite." Muten Roushi stared at the woman, blushing.

Buruma sighed. The others introduced themselves to the woman.

They continued walking through Palm Brinks, introducing themselves to everyone with which they crossed paths.

They arrived at the park. Rufio sat on a bench, watching the lake beneath him. The group ran to him.

_A Moon Person, huh? _Muten Roushi thought.

They introduced themselves to Rufio, Rufio staring at the lake. When they finished, he said, "I'm Rufio."

The group stared at him for some seconds. He continued to watch the lake.

"That's how he was when I introduced myself to him, too," Gokuu said. "Let's go."

"Wait."

The group faced him.

"I've heard you've been fulfilling people's requests in exchange for them going to the outside world. If I ever do leave Palm Brinks, I'd like a photo of the moon, just in case there's I go someplace that doesn't have a moon."

"Max has a camera," Gokuu said. "He probably has a photo of the moon."

"Thanks. I'm guessing Max is going to the meeting. I'll be there tonight for that photo."

Some silent moments passed. The group ran past him.

* * *

Monica knocked on Claire's door. She leaned onto one foot and crossed her arms.

_I hope this goes over well. Just be respectful and polite. Respectful and polite._

The door opened. Upon seeing Monica, Claire flashed a glare. Her expression then became neutral.

"Good morning," Monica said.

"Good morning."

"Can I come in?"

Claire nodded. Monica walked in.

Monica looked her in the eyes. "I'll just go ahead and say this now. I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I shouldn't have raised my voice."

Claire shook her head. "No, I started it. Griffon's attack made me really worried and stressed out." She bowed. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be so formal."

Claire straightened.

"Griffon's attack made everyone a little stressed. I mean, as far as I know, nothing like that's ever happened here. Of course it'd make everyone worried."

Claire smiled. "Let's relax for a little while." She gestured for Monica to follow. She led Monica to a couch.

"Have a seat."

They sat, angling themselves so that they faced each other.

"How're you and Max doing?"

"Max and I are fine. He's completely recovered from all those cuts I—technically Griffon—gave him."

Claire's eyes softened. "That's good."

"He's getting Donny to come to the outside world. We need you to come, too."

"What?"

"We need you to come to Veniccio with us. It's a beach north of Balance Valley. Donny will be there, too, so you won't be alone."

"Wow, a beach? I've never been to the beach before."

Monica prevented herself from gawking. _Of course. Palm Brinks has been closed off almost all her life._

Claire tapped her chin with her index finger and eyed the ceiling. "I've always wanted to go to the outside world. I don't want to get dirty, though." She looked at Monica. "What do the monsters out there look like? The plants, too. What do they look like? I bet they're really weird-looking."

"Himarras look like flowers, but they're monsters. The Lafrescia's just a flower. A really strange flower, but a flower."

"Can you show me a picture or something?"

"Max has all the pictures. He can show you at the meeting tonight."

Claire's eyes brightened. "I can't wait to go. I wonder what the beach looks like. Lots of sand and water, right?"

"Yeah, basically. It's a lot prettier in person. I've heard that the evening sun in this era is amazing."

"In this era?"

"In my era, Lunatic Wisdom Laboratory will be built over Veniccio. The scientists there have a machine that makes it so it's always nighttime. That way, they'll get full power out of their Luna Stones."

"What are those?"

"Why don't you come with us to the future? You can get all your questions answered there."

"Really? I can go with you all?"

"I don't see any reason why not."

Claire's eyes brightened further.

"By the way, I think your hair's really pretty. It's so long, and its color reminds me of a jewel."

"U-um, thanks."

* * *

Max and Donny ran up the station's stairs. Before Max could push open the doors, Rufio emerged from the shade.

"Wait."

Max and Donny faced him.

"I think I want to go to the outside world, too. If you give me a photo of the moon, I'll go."

"Sure." Max withdrew his photo album from his pouch. He opened it to its first page, tore out a photo, and gave it to Rufio. "Here you go."

Rufio stared at the photo for some seconds. He looked at Max. "Thanks. I'll be in the train."

Max pushed open the station's doors, Donny standing behind him, Rufio running past him and disappearing in the crowd. All the citizens stood on the platform beside the train. Mayor Need stood at the forefront, Morton beside him.

People moved aside for Max and Donny to pass. Max and Donny ran between them. They stopped in front of Mayor Need and Morton.

Donny looked at Morton. "Old man, I'm goin' to the outside world if you don't mind. Max and them need me for the future."

"Make sure you carry our salesmen's traditions there," Morton said.

"You betcha."

The crowd moved to the sides. Gokuu and the others ran through the crowd.

"Hey," Max said, Gokuu's group stopping before he and Donny. "Did you all introduce yourselves to everyone?"

"Yup," Yamcha said. "Everyone. Even the older woman who couldn't hear. Do you know how long it took us to tell her our names?"

"H-how long?"

"Thirty minutes," Buruma said. "That's right. Thirty. No, I'm not exaggerating. Seriously, we would yell our names, but she still couldn't hear us."

Gokuu grinned. "Buruma looked like a dragon afterwards."

"But we did manage to get her to come to the outside world." Muten Roushi moved aside, revealing Rosa.

"Speaking of coming to the outside world," Max said, "I got Rufio to come, too. He's already in the train."

"Why isn't he out here?" Kuririn said.

"I guess he doesn't feel like he's a part of this town. He's the only Moon Person here."

"He was really cold when we introduced ourselves to him," Buruma said. "Some people just prefer being alone."

The citizens moved to the sides. Monica and Claire ran between them until reaching Max and the others.

Claire briefly hugged Max.

"Hey, Claire."

"Monica told me you have some pictures of flowers from the outside world. Can you show me?"

"No problem." Max withdrew a photo album from his pouch. He thumbed through it and then stopped. "Here." He gave it to Claire.

"Wow, this is amazing." Her smile grew with the passing seconds. "I can't wait to go to the outside world. I want to see everything. The monsters, everything. I don't even mind getting a little dirty."

"Are you sure about that?" Monica said. "The monsters out there are fierce. They attack humans for no reason."

"It's okay. You guys can protect me."

Oolong stared at Claire, blushing. "Puar and I don't fight. We went into Ocean's Roar Cave, and we're fine."

"Yeah, she should be alright." Max turned to Gokuu. "Did you see Drini and Calonne? How're they doing?"

"Yeah, we saw them. They were playin' a game and told us to leave them alone. We never got back around to them since it was close to six by the time Kuririn and them introduced themselves to everyone else."

Monica smiled. "It sounds like they're okay now. Thank goodness."

"Excuse me, everyone!" Mayor Need waved his hands, as did Morton. "We're about to start."

The crowd gradually quieted.

"Thank you. We'd like to give an update on the damages caused by Griffon." He glanced at Max. "And, since our heroes have returned, we'd like them to give us an update on what's been happening in the outside world."

The trio nodded.

"As of yesterday," Mayor Need said, "the damages have been completely repaired. I'd like to thank everyone who's helped. Everyone's injuries from Griffon's attack have been completely healed, thanks to Dr. Dell and volunteer citizens. Everyone's mental states have improved as well."

The crowd clapped, whistled, cheered.

Mayor Need looked at Max. "Now, would you mind giving us an update on everything?"

Max nodded. He and the group faced the crowd. The trio explained what had happened since they had gone to Starlight Canyon's lighthouse, omitting Monica's capture. The citizens remained silent as they talked.

"Don't worry about Griffon, everyone," Monica said. "He's starting to regret his actions, and that's holding him back from attacking again. Remember, as long as everyone's minds are pure, which I'm sure they are, Griffon can't do anything to you."

The citizens clapped, cheered. Monica raised her hand, and they quieted.

"We'll be going back to Veniccio now. We'll see you soon."

The citizens yelled their goodbyes as the group waved to them and boarded and train. Before Claire could board the train, Mayor Need said, "Claire, you're leaving, too?"

"Yes, Daddy. They said I'm needed for the future. Besides, I want to see what the outside world's like, too."

"A-alright, then. Be careful."

"Don't worry. I will." She took the last step onto the train, and the door closed. The train began moving. Mayor Need watched the train disappear into the tunnel.

* * *

The group stood in front of the eight piers.

"We should head back in Ocean's Roar Cave," Monica said.

Max nodded. "Right."

"I'll hang back again, guys." Buruma looked at the eight piers and shop boats. "I can build this place up."

"That saves us a lot of trouble," Monica said. "Thanks a lot."

Oolong raised his hand. "I'll stay behind, too. After watching those pirates and fish attack Kuririn and Yamcha, I don't think I want to go back in there."

"Me, neither," Puar said. "Do your best, Yamcha-sama."

"You got it."

Donny pointed at the iron houses behind them. "And I'll be gettin' settled in that there blue house. See y'all later."

The remainder of the group ran toward Ocean's Roar Cave.

Max looked around. "Strange. Pau isn't here."

They saw an approaching silhouette on the shoreline, and they stopped. Max and Monica withdrew their weapons.

The silhouette stumbled toward them. It brightened. The group's eyes widened. Claire gasped and covered her mouth.

Pau panted, one eye closed. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth and rolled from forehead to chin. He fell onto his stomach. The group crouched beside him.

"Pau, what happened?" Max said.

Pau looked at Max through half-lidded eyes. "Shingala…" He coughed. Blood splattered on Max's overalls.

"Let's get him to Dr. Dell. We'll have to head back to Palm Brinks, though."

Gokuu carried Pau to the train and laid him on a bench. The train began moving toward Palm Brinks.

* * *

Pau lay on one of the examination tables in Dr. Dell's clinic. Dr. Dell wiped the blood off Pau and then administered Mighty Healing to his arm.

"This will heal the internal injuries Shingala gave you."

"Thanks."

"Would you mind telling us what exactly happened?" Monica said as Dr. Dell rubbed medicine on Pau's wounds.

"Shingala, I ran in the cave to find him myself. I didn't think you all would ever get to finding him, with you all coming in and out of the cave without him, so I decided to find him myself. I said his name, and he just started attacking me."

Tears filled his eyes. "He, he had this device on his head. I think someone was controlling him with it. I tried getting it off, but it wouldn't budge."

"Max, Gokuu," Monica said, "remember those monsters in the forest that had red devices on their heads?"

Max and Gokuu nodded.

"Those may be the same as the one Shingala has on his head. Pau, Griffon's henchmen are controlling Shingala. I have no idea why, but we either get that device off or attack Gaspard and Jaming directly."

"We don't even know where they are," Gokuu said. "It'd be a lot easier if I just pulled it off."

"I'm sure they took your strength into consideration when they put that device on Shingala's head. I don't think it'll be that easy."

"They couldn't have counted on us being here, too." Kuririn gestured toward Yamcha and Muten Roushi. "If Gokuu can't get it off by himself, we'll help."

"But we still have to have a backup plan," Buruma said. "As far as I know, a device like that could short-circuit if given too much electricity."

Pau sat up. "Are you saying we should electrocute Shingala?"

Dr. Dell placed his hand on Pau's chest and lowered Pau to the bench. "Calm down. You'll worsen your injuries."

"Of course not. I'm not sure how we could make the device short-circuit without electrocuting him, though."

"Then Kuririn, Yamcha, and I will pull it off," Gokuu said.

"Gaspard and Jaming aren't fools," Monica said. "We should be more prepared than necessary."

"Let's head to Luna Lab and see if any of the scientists there have a solution," Max said. "We should have finished enough of Veniccio for some of the scientists to come back."

"Alright, let's do that." Monica smiled. "Don't worry, Pau. We'll get Shingala back. Where did you find Shingala?"

"Inside the cave. There was a mural. You can't miss it."

"Okay, let's go."

The group ran past Pau. Oolong stayed behind.

Oolong scratched the side of his head using one finger. "Look, I'm sorry if I made you upset earlier. I know I came across as careless and, yeah, I'm sorry."

He placed his hands behind his head. He bent his leg forward and back repeatedly, staring at the floor. "Hey, uh, I don't contribute much to the group. I just tag along. I can't fight at all, so it's not like I could run in there and face Shingala by myself. I bet it's hard to stay calm in a situation like this."

Silence.

"I'm not sure if that made you feel any better, but that's all I wanted to say." Oolong ran out the train.

"Thanks." Pau closed his eyes and began to breathe steadily.


	40. Loaded

**Chapter Forty: Loaded**

After Max used his Atlamillia in the time gate, everyone looked around. They stood on a steel floor. Red and blue laboratories stood across from each other some yards away. Some yards in front of those labs stood purple and green labs, also on opposite sides.

"Wow," Claire said.

Monica pointed to the red lab. "Let's try that one first."

The group entered the red lab. Screens were embedded in the wall before them, and chairs stood in front of the screens. Two ramps led to the area where the screens were. Someone sitting in a chair yawned, stretched, and then swiveled his chair to face the group.

"Well, well," the Moon Person said, "we haven't gotten this many visitors since, well, ever." His yellow, orange, and blue clothes covered his fur, save his tail.

_Another Moon Person, _Muten Roushi thought.

The Moon Person jumped onto the floor as the group ran down one ramp. "So, what brings you all here? On a tour?"

"No, we need help," Max said, the group stopping before the Moon Person. "Are you a Luna Lab researcher?"

"Indeed. I'm Osmond, and I'm one of the top researchers here."

"That's great. Can you lend us a hand?"

"A hand?" Osmond took off his hand. "Here you are."

A breeze swept through the lab. Max, Monica, and Buruma groaned, Monica and Buruma scrunching their faces. Muten Roushi shifted from side to side. Puar, Yamcha, Kuririn, and Claire looked from the hand, to the handless arm, to Osmond's face, wide-eyed. Gokuu stared at the hand.

Oolong narrowed his eyes. "That's not funny."

Osmond walked to Oolong and began flopping the hand in Oolong's face. "Then you have no sense of humor."

Oolong grabbed the hand. "I have a sense of humor, Mr. Top Researcher. It's just a lot classier than yours."

Buruma coughed.

Before Osmond could reply, Gokuu said, "Hey, how'd you do that?"

Osmond whirled around to face him. "Take off my hand? It's quite simple, really. First, I—"

"We don't have time for this!"

Everyone in the lab looked at Buruma, scientists ceasing their activities.

She put a fist to her mouth and cleared her throat. "We have a question for you."

The group explained what happened, Osmond putting on his hand. When they finished, he sat on one of the constructors.

"So this sea dragon is under mind control. You all had the right idea—shorting out the device on his head."

"But how can we do that without hurting him?" Max said.

"Unfortunately, you'll have to hurt him, but not much. There's an old invention that should help." Osmond ran out the room. Metallic noises emanated from the room in which he had entered.

Osmond returned, a yellow worm in hand. He jumped onto the constructor and raised the worm. "An Electric Worm!"

"Okay," Oolong said.

"No sense of humor, nor any smarts."

Oolong snorted. "I'm not going to bother proving myself to you."

"Feed this to the dragon, and it'll send a strong electric pulse that should short out that device."

"Great," Max said.

"Hey, wait a minute," Monica said. "Do Shigura even eat worms? I know for sure that they eat fish."

"In that case, feed the worm to a fish first, and then feed that fish to the dragon. Do any of you have an aquarium?"

Max withdrew an aquarium from his pouch. A Nonky and Bon swam inside it.

"Why do you have an aquarium in your pouch?" Buruma said.

"Better yet, how can it fit in there?" Kuririn said.

Max stared at them. "Uh…"

"Great, you already have one," Osmond said. "Now, I simply drop this Electric Worm into the aquarium." He hovered the worm above the aquarium. He released it, and it plopped in the water. The Nonky and Bon raced toward the worm. The Bon reached the worm first and ate it in one bite.

The Bon quaked. Sparks danced around it. The Nonky swam to a corner of the aquarium as the Bon swelled. Its body became yellow.

"There you go," Osmond said, the Electric Fish swimming toward the Nonky, the Nonky pressing itself against the glass. "Good luck."

"Thanks, Dr. Osmond." Max deposited the aquarium into his pouch.

"Let's go," Monica said.

As he turned around to follow the group, Gokuu saw a tail protruding from Osmond. He pointed at it.

"Hey, you have a tail, too, just like I did."

"Yes, I do. I'm a Moon Person, after all." He looked Gokuu up and down. "You don't look like a Moon Person, though."

"My tail was cut off. It should grow back one day, though." He placed a finger to his chin. "Monica's been saying that I'm not human. I wonder if that makes me a Moon Person."

"If that was true, that would mean that you fell from the moon, too."

Muten Roushi, who had run halfway up the ramp, gulped.

"Really? How'd that—"

Muten Roushi sprinted to Gokuu and then cupped a hand over his mouth "Alright, that's enough. We have to hurry and save Shingala." He turned Gokuu around by the shoulders and pushed him out the lab.

Osmond raised an eyebrow. "Well."

* * *

Claire looked around as she followed Muten Roushi, Kuririn, Yamcha, and the trio through Ocean's Roar Cave. "This place is amazing."

"You should check out Rainbow Butterfly Wood and Starlight Canyon," Max said. "Those places are just as awesome."

They opened the gate leading to the next floor. Darkness surrounded them as they ran.

"I can't see a thing," Claire said.

"Grab each other's hands," Muten Roushi said.

Everyone did so. They neared a Luna Stone in a gate's indent. It illuminated five feet in front.

Monica crashed into a Blue Seal. She bounced off, the group falling with her. They fell onto their backs.

"Sorry, everyone." Monica sat up. "Are you all okay?"

The group replied in the affirmative, standing.

"What did you run into?" Claire said.

Monica walked forward, holding her hands before herself. She touched a wall, blue encompassing the area which her hand covered. "It's a Blue Seal. I'll have to stay here."

"Blue Seal?"

"Seals prevent anyone who has a certain Atlamillia from going forward. I think Griffon put them in place to capture whoever had the Atlamillias. Even though he knows that Max and I have them, he still hasn't removed the Seals, probably just to give us a hard time. Bottom line is, I can't move on until all the monsters here are defeated."

"We'll be back soon, Monica," Max said.

Monica nodded. "Okay. I'll be waiting."

The group grabbed each others' hands and ran forward, past the Seal and to the gate. Gokuu touched the Luna Stone. It opened, and they entered the next floor, releasing their hands from each other. They began running through the passageway.

Some yards in front of the group, a Captain, Pirate Tank, a Goyone peeked at them from behind a corner.

"Aye, there they are," the Captain said. "Those are the humans that stole me treasure."

The Goyone gritted its teeth. "We have to kill them before they pollute our ocean again or, worse, take our territory for themselves, just like they almost did before."

"Here they come." The Pirate Tank aimed its nozzle at Gokuu. "I'll blast 'em to pieces." It released a laser.

"Guys, watch out!" Gokuu and the others jumped sideways, Muten Roushi tackling Claire to the ground. The laser flew past them and exploded on the gate.

"Sorry for the roughness, miss." Muten Roushi gripped Claire's hand and pulled her onto her feet.

The monsters stepped away the corner, blocking the group's way.

"I bet they're here to take our treasure back." Yamcha and the group stood and faced the monsters.

The Captain stepped forward. "_Your _treasure? It was mine first."

"Hey, Yamcha, that guy's real mad at you," Gokuu said.

"I guess that means I'm taking it on."

"Since we outnumber them," Kuririn said, "I'll help you." _Besides, I definitely don't want to fight any of them by myself, especially since they all look stronger than before._

Gokuu cracked his knuckles. "I'll fight the Tank."

"That leaves me with the fish," Max said.

Muten Roushi looked at Claire behind him. "Stay behind me, miss."

"O-okay." Claire peered over Muten Roushi's shoulder.

As the Pirate Tank released a cannonball, Gokuu disappeared and then reappeared behind it. The cannonball landed before Muten Roushi. It began to pulse as though it were a beating heart. Gokuu punched the Pirate Tank, forcing the Tank forward and leaving a dent.

Muten Roushi ran behind Claire, grabbed her waist, and leaped backward. He ran in front of her, spreading his arms apart. The cannonball exploded. Debris bounced off his body.

Gokuu looked at Muten Roushi. "You alright, Kamesennin?"

"Gokuu, pay attention to your opponent."

Gokuu looked forward. The Pirate Tank's nozzle faced him. The Tank released a cannonball. The cannonball hit Gokuu's face, and he flew backward. He slid on the ground, coming to a stop before Muten Roushi.

The cannonball on his face began to pulse. Muten Roushi grabbed it and threw it toward the Pirate Tank. The Pirate Tank's eye widened, and it turned sideways. Upon impact with the Tank's side, the cannonball exploded. Pieces of the Tank flew away.

The dust cleared, revealing the Tank with a hole in its side. It glared at Muten Roushi.

Gokuu appeared in front of it. He unsheathed his Nyoi-bo and pointed it toward the Tank's nozzle. "Extend!"

The Nyoi-bo extended through the nozzle, piercing the Tank's backside. It returned to its original size, and Gokuu sheathed it.

The Pirate Tank attempted to draw in air to release a laser, but could not. It tried to launch a cannonball, but could not.

"I, I can't attack."

"Too bad." Gokuu jumped, his leg outstretched. He kicked the Tank's top. His foot broke through. Electricity surrounded his foot.

"Ow, ow." Gokuu withdrew his foot, jumped on the Tank, leaving dents, and landed behind it.

The Tank's eye rolled back, and it exploded. Gokuu slammed into the opposing wall and fell on his side.

Gokuu staggered onto his feet, his eyes half-lidded. His clothing was covered in holes.

The Tank's remnants remained across from him. They disintegrated.

"Alright." Gokuu fell onto his hands and knees.

* * *

Max ran toward the Goyone, shooting his Question Shooter. The Goyone deflected the beams using the tip of its spear, and the beams hit the opposite wall.

When Max reached it, he swung his Cubic Hammer. The Goyone held its spear in front. The hammer snapped the spear in half.

Max continued his swing. The hammer crushed the Goyone's face, and the Goyone slammed into the wall.

He withdrew his hammer. The Goyone's visible eye was blank, and its mouth hung open. It slid onto the ground and disintegrated.

Max smiled. "That was pretty easy."

* * *

"We've just about had it with you pirates," Yamcha said.

"Let's finish this quickly," Kuririn said.

"Right."

They disappeared. Yamcha appeared before the Captain. Kuririn appeared behind it. Yamcha kicked its stomach, Kuririn kicking its back. A cracking noise echoed through the cave.

They released their legs from its body. The Captain stood, motionless, its eyes cloudy.

"Would you do the honors?" Kuririn said.

"I will." Yamcha ran toward the Captain, slamming his wrists together. "Wolf Fang Fist!" He seemed to transform into a wolf. Upon reaching the Captain, he kicked its face sideways. Then, he shaped his hands as though they were claws. He clawed at the Captain's body until it disintegrated.

Yamcha crossed his arms as Kuririn walked to his side. "I didn't even break a sweat."

"Me, neither." Kuririn raised the palm of his hand. Yamcha slapped it.

Two Beach Rats, who had watched the fight from around a corner, exchanged wide-eyed expressions.

"Aw, those humans killed them all," one said. "They're crazy strong."

The other Beach Rat glared at Kuririn and Yamcha, who laughed. It gritted its teeth. It looked at Claire, who stood behind Muten Roushi. It pointed to her. "I don't think I saw that human fight. Let's capture her and kill her."

"Why don't we just kill her?"

"Did you see how strong those humans are? We can't take them on. We're outnumbered, too. Let's kill her in private. The humans'll see how it feels to lose one of their kind."

The Beach Rats turned and ran deeper into the cave.

* * *

Max ran to Gokuu. "Are you alright?

"What was that?" Gokuu, on all fours, stared at the ground, panting.

"I guess those tanks explode when you defeat them instead of disintegrating."

Kuririn and Yamcha ran to Max and Gokuu.

"You took quite a beating, Gokuu," Yamcha said.

"It wasn't that bad," Gokuu said, "except for that explosion at the end."

Max looked Kuririn and Yamcha over. "Looks like you guys didn't have any trouble at all."

"Nope," Kuririn said. "Let's see how Muten Roushi-sama and Claire are doing."

The four ran to Muten Roushi and Claire.

"You two alright?" Yamcha said.

"I am." Muten Roushi looked at Claire. "Are you okay, miss?"

"Y-yes. " She smiled. "I'd like to see more monsters, if that's alright."

"Of course it is. You're no burden to us at all."

The group ran through the cave, defeating all monsters they encountered. After one of these fights, two Beach Rats began to trail the group, their footsteps light. They looked at each other and nodded.

One covered Claire's mouth and then carried her in the opposite direction. The remaining Beach Rat ran behind Muten Roushi, matching its footfalls to Claire's.

Some minutes passed. Muten Roushi looked at the Beach Rat running behind him. He looked past it.

"Where did you take the human girl?"

The Beach Rat shrugged. Muten Roushi punched its cheek. It slammed into the wall and disintegrated.

"Everyone, stop."

Everyone did so.

"Claire's been taken. I don't know how, but those monsters somehow got to her. I thought she was still behind me since I heard footsteps, but it turned out to be one of those giant rats. I'll go after her. You all keep looking for Shingala." Muten Roushi dashed in the opposite direction.

* * *

Claire's head bounced on the Beach Rat's back, its arm covering her mouth. She began kicking its chest. She opened her mouth and bit its hand, her teeth going as far as they could into its flesh. The Beach Rat yelped and dropped Claire. She stood and ran, holding up her skirt.

She reached the gate and opened it. She ran past Monica.

"Claire, what's wrong?"

Claire pointed at the Rats, which had run through the gate. Monica stood before the Rats, her Dusack raised.

One Rat leaped toward Monica. It slammed its shovel into Monica's face. Monica staggered backward. The Rat landed and continued to run.

The other Rat jumped over Monica. It smashed her head with its shovel, landed, and continued running, Monica falling facedown.

* * *

Claire ran into Veniccio. Buruma, Puar, and Oolong sat on the edge of a pier.

"What's wrong?" Oolong said.

"Monsters are running after me." Claire ran through the water and then jumped onto the pier. She hid behind the green iron house, peeking at them. "Monica might've killed them but, if she didn't, I'm sure they're going to get here soon. You have to protect me."

"We can't figh—" Buruma said.

"I'll protect you." Oolong stood. "I can transform into a huge monster and scare those guys off."

Claire's eyes glittered. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Buruma glared at Oolong. "Are you crazy? We'll be killed."

"Killed?" Claire said.

"Buruma's never seen I, Oolong-sama, in action."

Buruma narrowed her eyes as Oolong transformed into a bison. He stood on two legs, several feet taller than the iron houses. He wielded a club.

"We're doomed," Buruma said.

"You all, stay behind the houses," Oolong said.

"Right, right." Buruma and Puar walked and floated, respectively, behind the green iron house. Puar peeked from behind it.

Claire noticed Buruma leaning against the house, her eyes closed. "Don't you wanna watch? You've never seen Oolong fight, have you?"

"You're right. I've never seen him fight."

Two Beach Rats ran onto Veniccio's shore. They stopped, their eyes wide, and stepped back.

Oolong raised his club. "Who dares disturb my sleep?"

"I've never seen any monster like that," one Beach Rat said.

"Me, neither. Hey, what kinda monster are you?"

"M-me? I am a mighty bison." Oolong swung his axe. His right foot slid off the pier. He fell into the ocean and then scrambled onto his feet.

A Beach Rat raised its brow. "More like a clumsy bison."

"Silence! You have disturbed my slumber, and you have walked onto my territory. If you do not leave immediately, there will be hell to pay."

"But aren't humans here, too?" It looked around. "One just ran over here."

"Oh, her? I ate her. I either eat you two as well, or I chop you in half. What's your pleasure?"

It smirked. "I'd like to see you try and chop us in half."

The Beach Rats ran toward him. He turned and ran.

"The mighty bison is running away?" a Beach Rat said.

"Well, a bison _is _just an animal." The Beach Rat jumped toward him. It swung its shovel onto Oolong's cheek. Oolong's head turned nearly ninety degrees. Oolong stumbled, his eyes becoming momentarily blank.

The other Beach Rat ran to Oolong's backside and headbutted his rear. Oolong fell onto the sand.

Puar sunk. "He's an idiot."

"'Idiot' doesn't even begin to describe him," Buruma said.

_What's going on? _Claire thought.

Oolong kicked the Beach Rat's stomach. The Beach Rat did not move.

The Beach Rat snickered. "A Sea Bat is stronger than you."

Claire frowned. "Hmm…"

The Beach Rats grabbed one leg each and slammed Oolong into the ground repeatedly.

"How can you be so big," a Beach Rat said, "yet so light?"

"Let go," the other said. "I'll do this myself. Hit him in some other place."

The Beach Rat released his leg and began to kick his head. The other continued to slam him into the ground. Oolong de-transformed.

"Looks like his five minutes are up," Puar said.

"Five minutes?" Claire said.

The Beach Rat gripped his shirt collar and lifted him up. His eyes were blank.

"Looks like they knocked him out, too." Buruma sighed. "Puar, go out there and distract those monsters."

"Wh-what? Me? No way. I didn't do anything to get us into this mess."

"I know. Son-kun or one of the others should be coming to help soon, so go distract them until then."

Puar transformed into a large samurai wielding two nunchucks. "I'll use these nunchucks to keep them away from you all."

Buruma smiled. "I'm glad someone's using their brain around here."

Puar jumped onto shore and pointed at the Beach Rats. "Y-you dare hurt my comrade?"

The Beach Rats faced Puar. They exchanged looks, one dropping Oolong.

"You will face the fury of the mighty samurai." He swung the nunchucks around. He stepped toward the Beach Rats, and the Beach Rats stepped back.

After some minutes of Puar swinging the nunchucks, one Beach Rat said, "You think he's just like that pig?"

"I dunno, but I don't wanna get hit with those things."

"I'm going in." The Beach Rat ran toward Puar. A nunchuck slapped its face. It ran beside its ally.

"Aww, it must've hurt."

"Actually, it didn't. He's weak, too. Let's get him."

The Beach Rats ran toward Puar.

_Not good. _Puar de-transformed and flew above the Beach Rats. The Beach Rats jumped, swinging their shovels toward him. The shovels hit air.

One Beach Rat turned toward the iron houses. It saw Claire's eyes widen. Claire ducked behind the house.

"If you don't come down here, we'll attack your friends instead."

Puar gulped. He looked from the Beach Rats, to the green iron house, to Ocean's Roar Cave, and back again.

"You're just gonna float there, huh? Let's get 'em."

The Beach Rats ran toward the piers.

Buruma's eyes widened. "Puar, keep them away!"

"How?"

The blue iron house's door slammed open. Everyone, save Oolong, turned toward the noise, the Beach Rats stopping.

Donny stared at the monsters. He placed his hands on his hips. "Now just what is goin' on out here? You think a guy'd be able to get a little sleep, 'specially on the beach, but no, he's gotta wake up to all this ruckus. How'd these monsters get over here?"

"I accidentally brought them here," Claire said. "I thought these people could fight, too, but I guess not."

Donny sighed. "Alright, I guess it's time for me to try my hand at this." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a Classic Gun. "It's a good thing Max bought another one of these for me."

Buruma pointed at the rats. "Shoot them."

"Let's see how this baby handles." Donny shot at the Beach Rats. The bullets ricocheted off.

Donny shrugged. "Well, I'm not too sure what to do now."

"I'm sick of these humans," a Beach Rat said. "Let's kill them all."

Muten Roushi sprinted out of Ocean's Roar Cave. Puar's eyes glistened with tears. He ran underneath Puar. He smashed the Beach Rat's faces with his fists, and the Beach Rats flew backward.

Oolong sat up, rubbing his eyes. They widened. A Beach Rat flew toward him. Before he could scramble sideways, the Beach Rat crashed into him. Stars enveloped his vision.

The Beach Rats slammed into the rock wall, creating craters, and disintegrated. Oolong remained pressed into a crater, his eyes blank.

Claire and the others ran from behind the houses, Donny following, to Muten Roushi.

"Sorry about the delay, everyone. I got a little lost."

Claire hugged Muten Roushi, and his face became scarlet.

"Oh, I'm so glad you saved us. That pig lied to me and said he would protect us, but then you came and killed those rats. You saved me. Thank you so much."

She stopped hugging him and turned to Puar. Muten Roushi fell onto his back.

She grabbed Puar's hands and pulled him into an embrace. "And thank you, too. I'm so sorry you had to pick up the slack for that pig."

She released him. Puar floated, like paper, onto Muten Roushi's stomach.

Oolong fell facedown. He pushed himself off the ground and then walked to the group.

Claire faced him. "You lied to me."

"I, I didn't say I could fight. I only said I would scare them away."

"You didn't do a very good job of it." She pointed to Muten Roushi, Puar, and Donny. "These guys had to protect us instead, all because of you." She slapped Oolong, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She entered the red house, slamming the door shut.

A few seconds later, she opened the door, poking out her head.

"Uh, before nighttime comes, can someone put a light or something outside? Thanks." She closed the door.


	41. Snakes in a Cave

**Chapter Forty-one: Snakes in a Cave**

"Did you hear?"

The remainder of the Shivas and Auntie Medusas looked at the Auntie Medusa that sat closest to the wall. All the monsters sat in a circle.

"Humans have come into the cave."

Some of the Auntie Medusas shifted from side to side. Some wiggled their tail fins. Some Shivas snorted.

"Is that what you've called us here to discuss?" a Shiva said. "You could've waited until our usual gossiping time." She paused. "Unless you have a plan."

Silence, save for droplets from the ceiling plopping in the water.

The Auntie Medusa looked at the passageway before them and gritted her teeth. "Those humans killed the Captain I used to sail with. I sailed with him for ten years." She wiped a tear from her eye.

"Stop grinding your teeth," another Auntie Medusa said. "You'll make them crooked. Oh, and your mascara's running."

The other Auntie Medusa sighed. Her body sunk.

"I know how it feels, up to an extent. The Captain I sailed with died, too, but of natural causes, not because of these humans."

The other straightened. She looked at the passageway. "But, you know what? I'd like to try and get one of them on our side."

The monsters gasped.

"No, that's daft," a Shiva said. "It might turn on us. I've lived a lot longer than you. I've seen my fair share of betrayals." She eyed a Shiva sitting diagonally from her, which scowled.

"That was a stupid argument," another Shiva said, "but this is serious, much more serious than something petty that happened twenty years ago."

"Nineteen."

"It's not important right now." She looked at the Auntie Medusa. "Do you really want to side with a human—one that killed your Captain?"

The Auntie Medusa closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's not a matter of whether or not I want to. I have to for the good of the monsters here. If the humans don't leave soon, they may take over our territory again, just like they almost did before they were exterminated."

"Humans are very cunning. How will you get it to give us its complete devotion?"

The snakes on the Auntie Medusa's head hissed.

"Have you forgotten about my babies?"

The other monsters exchanged looks.

"I'll be able to capture one by myself. I'll get it to tell us about the human lifestyle, their fighting techniques, anything that'll aid us in their second extermination."

A Shiva smiled. "I believe it's okay."

The other monsters nodded.

The Auntie Medusa giggled. "I'd also like another Captain to sail with."

* * *

After defeating all the monsters, the group returned to the area in which the Blue Seal had been. Monica lay on the ground, facedown. The Luna Stone in the gate's depression illuminated her body. The group surrounded her and then crouched.

Gokuu placed his hands on her back and shook her. "Hey, Monica, wake up. It's us."

Monica twitched. She slid onto her knees as she blinked twice. "What happened?"

"That's what we should be asking you," Kuririn said. "What happened to your face?"

"My face? What about it?"

"There's blood all over it."

Monica wiped her forehead with her hand, which she then looked at. Blood covered the majority of it. "Oh, boy. I remember now. Those rats came and knocked me out with their shovels."

Max stood. "Let's get you to Dr. Dell. It could be another concussion."

"I think I'm all right on my own. You guys go on ahead."

"But, Monica…" He looked toward footsteps from the darkness, as did the rest of the group.

Muten Roushi slid to a stop before them. He explained what had happened.

Kuririn laughed. "I bet they had a time trying to stall for you, Muten Roushi-sama."

"They could've just gotten the Ridepod," Max said.

"What happened to your face, miss?"

"A rat smashed it with its shovel. I'm about to go back to Dr. Dell's office."

"Actually, I was going to go back to Veniccio to keep the others safe. I'll escort you back there, and I'll tell the men on the train to get Dr. Dell here. The citizens in Palm Brinks should be okay by now."

"All right," Max said. "Thanks, Kamesennin."

"Yeah, thanks," Monica said.

"You're welcome. Do you need any support?"

"No, I'm fine." Monica stood. "You know how it feels now, huh, Max?"

"What do you mean?"

"Remember how worried I was when you went fishing while you were still hurt? I bet that's how you're feeling right now."

Max frowned. "Hey, you've done some pretty reckless things yourself."

"Yeah, I guess."

"'I guess?' Gaspard captured you because of your recklessness."

Monica shrugged. "Maybe it's just part of saving the world." She looked at Muten Roushi. "Sorry for getting off-track. Let's head out."

"It's not a problem at all, miss."

Muten Roushi and Monica grabbed each others' hands. They ran into the darkness.

* * *

The Shivas and Auntie Medusas heard footsteps from the passageway. Some stood.

"That might be them," an Auntie Medusa said. "Prepare yourselves."

The Auntie Medusas and Shivas raised their tridents and staves respectively. Max, Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha ran into the clearing.

"The ones without weapons are the most dangerous," a Shiva said.

"Old ladies?" Yamcha said. "Should we really be fighting them?"

The monsters glared, scowled.

"Old ladies?" An Auntie Medusa slid toward him. "I'm only in my thirties."

"Yamcha, you made that monster real mad," Gokuu said. "Y'know, Lin got mad when I said she looks as old as Kamesennin. I wonder why."

Kuririn smiled wryly. "H-hey, with age comes experience."

The Auntie Medusa stopped and looked at Kuririn. "Experience?" She batted her eyes. "I suppose you're right."

Kuririn stepped back. He bit his lip. _That's kinda unsettling. _"Uh, Yamcha, you owe me big time for bailing you out."

Yamcha nodded. "I sure do."

The Auntie Medusa stared at Kuririn. She smiled and then puckered her lips.

"Looks like you got it on our side," Max said.

_I have a bad feeling about this. _"G-Gokuu, can you tell why that monster's staring at me?"

"I dunno. Maybe you've got somethin' on your face."

Kuririn narrowed his eyes. "I get the feeling that that's not the reason."

"I want that human." The Auntie Medusa slid before Kuririn. She opened her mouth, and a green ball of goo emerged. The goo splattered on his face, and he closed his eyes. He stumbled back.

Max caught Kuririn's shoulders. "Hang on, Kuririn."

Kuririn froze, his face scrunched, one leg lifted, one foot on the ground, one arm touching his forehead, one hand near his chin. His body became black in color, as though it were stone.

"Looks like he's petrified," Max said.

"Petrified?" Yamcha said.

Max nodded. "Yeah. He won't be able to move for a while. We don't have a Medusa's Tear or anything to reverse the effect, so we'll have to wait it out. You and Gokuu can take care of the monsters while I keep Kuririn safe." He began to drag Kuririn backward.

The Auntie Medusa wrapped her arms around Kuririn's waist. "I want that human."

"You're not gonna get him." Before Gokuu could run toward the Auntie Medusa, Shivas and other Auntie Medusas surrounded him. The remainder of the monsters surrounded Yamcha.

Gokuu glared. "Kuririn and Max are in trouble. Get outta my way."

Max tugged. The Auntie Medusa slid forward. The snakes on her head thrust themselves toward him. Max's eyes widened. He tried to jump backward, but could not.

The snakes sunk their fangs into Max's cheeks, forehead, nose, ears. Max grinded his teeth and gripped Kuririn tighter.

The Auntie Medusa giggled. "You're a tough one, but not as tough as me."

The snakes released their fangs from Max and then returned to their original positions on the Auntie Medusa's head. The Auntie Medusa slid her hands off Kuririn's waist. She leaped overhead. As she fell, Max shot using his Question Shooter. She deflected the beams with her trident, and the beams flew into the distance.

When she neared Max, she slammed her trident onto his head thrice. His eyes rolled back, and he fell.

"You're finally mine." The Auntie Medusa grabbed Kuririn around the waist, hoisted him so that his head hung over her shoulder, and slid into a passageway across the clearing. They disappeared into the darkness.

Each of Gokuu's hands clashed against Shivas' staves, his legs against Auntie Medusas' tridents. "Kuririn!"

* * *

Kuririn could not move any part of his body. He stared at the wall's humps pass. _Yamcha _really _owes me for getting him out of that mess._

The Auntie Medusa stopped. His body returned to its original color, and he clenched his hand into a fist.

_I can move again._ He eyed the Auntie Medusa._ Maybe she still thinks I'm petrified. It's now or never. _He threw his fist toward the Auntie Medusa's cheek. The Auntie Medusa swayed her head, and the fist passed it.

A snake bit one of Kuririn's knuckles. He hollered and withdrew his hand. Blood seeped out.

He gulped. "I sure hope those snakes aren't poisonous."

The Auntie Medusa replied in gibberish. Kuririn cocked his head.

She slithered behind a rock and then picked up a white earring. She snapped it on his earlobe. Kuririn yelped and touched it.

"Wh-what's this?"

"A clip-on earring. They say a human from long ago wore it to understand a talking tree." She smiled. "You should be able to understand me now, darling."

"I, I can understand you." He glared. "But it doesn't matter. I'm getting outta here."

The Auntie Medusa tightened her embrace, and the snakes hissed in his ear. One pressed its fangs against his earlobe. Kuririn leaned his head back as his eyes widened.

"I don't think so. If you try to run again, I'll tell my snakes to allow their venom into your skin. They didn't poison you before. That was more of a warning, telling you that you shouldn't try to escape."

Kuririn shuddered. "What're you gonna do with me?"

"I want a husband."

"A husband? Me? But I'm only fourteen. That's below the legal age."

The Auntie Medusa giggled. "Your human laws don't matter here. I _am _going to marry you."

"Why don't you marry one of your fellow monsters? You won't run the risk of me killing you, and you won't be looked at as an outcast, if monsters look down on that kind of thing. Besides, didn't humans destroy your habitat or something like that? Please say yes."

One of the snakes hissed in his ear.

"C-can you get them to stop that, please?"

"I'll let them do whatever they want. As far as your other question, humans did come close to destroying our habitat long ago, but I happen to be attracted to humans nonetheless. Besides, I need to you tell me about humans."

"Why?"

"I'm curious about how the other half lives."

Kuririn attempted to smile, but his smile appeared as a grimace. "You know, they say that monsters are a lot like humans. I don't think that'll be necessary."

The Auntie Medusa grinned. "It _is_ necessary."

Kuririn gulped twice. _I have a really bad feeling about this. _"I won't tell you anything. I don't care what you do to me."

"Is that so? You're tough, just like that other human. I'm glad I didn't let my snakes poison him—at least not fatally, only enough to knock him out. If you die before me, he could make a good second husband. But, for now and, hopefully, for many years to come, you're mine."

A snake leaned forward and then licked Kuririn's earlobe. Kuririn hollered.

* * *

"Kuririn." Gokuu pushed against the monsters' tridents and staves with his arms and legs. "I heard him scream. You guys gotta get out my way."

"Do you really think we'll move if you ask?" a Shiva said.

Kuririn's holler ceased.

Gokuu gritted his teeth. "I'll make you somehow." _That's right, Max and Monica always charge up their energy when they're in situations like this. Maybe I could do somethin' like that, too. _

He released his arms and legs from the tridents and staves. He stood straight, relaxed, and closed his eyes. He stocked energy inside his body. A blue aura appeared around him.

An Auntie Medusa relaxed her grip on her trident. She stepped back.

"D-don't be intimidated," a wide-eyed Shiva said. "Watch him carefully."

"Right." The Auntie Medusa tightened her grip.

Gokuu imagined the energy moving to his arms and legs. The aura around them became brighter. He opened his eyes and then glared at the monsters.

"Don't show mercy," the Shiva said.

He backflipped. He landed near the monsters behind him. He became a blue blur as he slid near the Auntie Medusas and Shivas before him. He threw a punch at an Auntie Medusa and another punch at a Shiva. They raised their trident and staff. Gokuu's fists broke them in half. He continued his punch. He smashed the Auntie Medusa's and Shiva's faces.

The Auntie Medusa and Shiva flew backward. They slammed into two Shivas at Yamcha's side. Those Shivas crashed into Auntie Medusas. The monsters fell into the wall and disintegrated. Two small craters remained.

Gokuu whirled around to face the remainder of the monsters, which gawked and exchanged looks.

Gokuu growled. "If you're not gonna make the first move, then I will."

The monsters shook their heads.

"We'll leave you alone from now on," an Auntie Medusa said. "Please leave us alone. We have long lives ahead."

They slithered and crawled around a corner. The monsters around Yamcha dispersed.

Gokuu exhaled. The blue aura faded. "Now to go get Kuririn." He looked at Max, who lay on his back. Yamcha stared at Gokuu, wide-eyed.

"Keep Max safe in case some of those monsters come back. I'll go get Kuririn."

Yamcha nodded. He watched Gokuu run in the direction the Auntie Medusa had taken Kuririn.

* * *

"Don't worry about a thing," the Auntie Medusa said, her hands cupped over Kuririn's mouth. She bore her eyes into his. "Let's have the ceremony right now, then the reception, then our first night together."

Kuririn blushed crimson. _No, no, I can't do this._

"Is that an expression of excitement?"

Kuririn blinked.

The Auntie Medusa frowned. "It must not be." She smiled. "You'll change your mind after tonight, trust me. My body may be a little chubbier than it used to, but I've still got it."

_Oh, man, I need to get outta here. _Kuririn looked around. A passageway was to his right. The wall was to his left.

"Thinking of running away?"

A snake bit down on Kuririn's earlobe. Kuririn yelped.

"Get off. Get off, damn it."

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes, I'll marry you, just, please, get this snake off."

The Auntie Medusa stroked the snake. "It's okay now."

The snake released its fangs from Kuririn's earlobe. It hissed.

The Auntie Medusa carried Kuririn farther into the clearing. They reached the back wall. A Fintol stood near it. It perked.

"Finally, you've found a mate."

The Auntie Medusa raised its eyebrow.

"Erm, I mean, I'm glad you found the perfect husband. Really glad. You have no idea how much. I've known you for so long, I never thought, I mean, um, sorry. Let's hurry with this ceremony." The Fintol straightened. "We have gathered here today…"

Kuririn watched the Fintol. _I've really gotta leave somehow but, if I try, one of those snakes'll bite my ear off. Oh, man, I don't want my life to be over so soon._

"You may kiss the bride."

Kuririn slowly looked at the smiling Auntie Medusa. His smile twitched. He pecked her on the cheek.

The Auntie Medusa placed her free hand on her hip. "What was that?"

"A-a kiss. What else?"

"That was not a kiss. I know you can do better than that."

Kuririn kissed the Auntie Medusa on the lips for some seconds. He used all his will to prevent himself from scrunching his face. He released his lips from hers.

The Auntie Medusa giggled. "Much better."

Vomit entered Kuririn's mouth. He swallowed it. _Note to self: Wash mouth thoroughly ASAP._

"I'm sure you've got much more where that came from. Let's skip the reception and go right to the honeymoon. It's nighttime, after all."

Kuririn paled.

"Finally, I can leave." The Fintol rolled into the distance.

The Auntie Medusa began to carry Kuririn to the right. "You'll tell me everything about humans after tonight. I'm sure of it."

_I don't know what she's planning on doing with that information. I have to keep my mouth closed, no matter what she does to me._

She stopped. "If you tell me about humans, we won't go on a honeymoon."

Kuririn's eyes brightened. "Really?"

"That's right."

"Wait, I just told myself I wouldn't do that." He hardened his expression. "Like I said before, I don't care what you do with me. I'm not telling you anything about humans."

The Auntie Medusa narrowed her eyes. "I see." She continued her slither. "Even if you did say yes, we still would've gone on a honeymoon." She smirked. "I'll force it out of you."

_After everything she's done to me so far, I don't want to see what her methods are. _Kuririn looked at the snakes on her head. _If I could somehow kill those snakes, she wouldn't be able to threaten me with them anymore. But there are so many of them, and I only have two hands. _He paused. _Even if I am poisoned, Dr. Dell can cure me. _

Kuririn grabbed two snakes in each hand. The snakes began to cough. The other snakes thrust themselves toward his hands, fangs visible. He swung his hands upwards, and the snakes bit air.

The Auntie Medusa scrunched her face. "Stop it! My poor snakes, I can feel their pain."

"Only if you promise to let me go."

The Auntie Medusa glared at him. She spat goo. Kuririn released the snakes, and they snapped in place, and the Auntie Medusa flinched. He leaned his head sideways. The goo flew past him.

Kuririn kneed the Auntie Medusa's stomach. She coughed, and her grip faltered. He kneed her once more. Her grip disappeared. He fell on his back. He scooted away, stood, and backflipped.

The snakes pointed upward and hissed.

"How dare you?" The Auntie Medusa trembled. She gritted her teeth. "You've hurt my poor snakes, and you've hurt me, your wife, a lady."

"I'll hit a girl if necessary. I'm sure you'd do the same thing if you were a guy."

"I'll kill you and take the other human as my husband, and I'll whip him into shape before he fights back."

"Other human? I'm not sure who you're talking about, but I won't let you."

In less than a second, Kuririn stood inches before her. He punched her stomach and backflipped. The Auntie Medusa doubled over. Green blood rolled from her mouth.

The Auntie Medusa chuckled. "I don't normally like to do this, but there seems to be a large difference in power. Go, my snakes."

The snakes jumped off the Auntie Medusa's head, leaving her bald. They landed and slithered toward Kuririn.

Kuririn glanced over his shoulder. A wall stood behind him. _If I jump over them, I'll end up close to that monster, and she'll stab me or spray me with that goo or something. _He looked up. Stalactites hung from the ceiling.

Kuririn jumped. He hugged a stalactite, and his knees clutched its sides. The snakes gathered below him. They jumped toward him, fangs visible.

Kuririn slammed his feet on the stalactite and then propelled himself backward. His back slammed into the wall as the snakes reached the stalactites.

The Auntie Medusa slithered toward Kuririn as he slid down. The snakes landed on the ground. She pointed her trident toward him. When he landed, he leaped toward her. He shaped his hand into a fist. He neared her, and she thrust her trident into his chest. His flight ceased.

"Should've known that wouldn't work." Kuririn closed his eyes.

"I'm giving you one more chance. If you don't tell me about humans, I'll stab you to death."

"Kuririn!"

Kuririn opened one eye, and he and the Auntie Medusa looked toward the voice. Gokuu sped toward her. He appeared as a blur to the Auntie Medusa.

When the blur neared her, she spat goo. The goo splattered in Gokuu's face. His body became black in color, and he stopped in mid-run. He glared at the Auntie Medusa.

Kuririn grabbed the trident with both hands and then pulled the trident out. He landed on his feet.

"My snakes, inflict your venom upon the human who interrupted us." She grinded her teeth. "I will kill this human."

"I won't let you kill Gokuu." Kuririn jumped three stories over the Auntie Medusa. He landed before Gokuu, and he hoisted Gokuu above his head. He flinched and then looked down. The snakes' fangs were embedded in his ankles.

The world around him spun as it faded to black. Gokuu appeared before him.

"Hey, Kuririn, let's go for a run."

Kuririn shook his head. "Sorry, buddy, but not right now. I don't feel so good."

Dr. Dell appeared beside Gokuu. "In that case, let me give you some Mighty Healing. This should heal any internal injuries and make you feel much better." He shoved the needle into Kuririn's arm. Kuririn stumbled back.

Gokuu and Dr. Dell began to fade, and Kuririn clutched his head.

"What's in that stuff? It's making me feel worse."

"All sorts of medicines. You have to feel worse before you feel better."

"Ah, that makes sense."

Gokuu and Dr. Dell disappeared, and Kuririn fell into the darkness.

* * *

Gokuu lay facedown in front of Kuririn's head. He flipped onto his feet. Snakes bit into Kuririn's ankles. He jumped and crushed them, two at a time, with his feet. After some seconds, the snakes' fangs slipped out. They fell on their sides, motionless.

Gokuu crouched beside Kuririn. He shook his shoulders. "Kuririn. Kuririn, wake up."

Kuririn remained motionless, his hands shaped as though cupped around Gokuu's shins, his mouth parted, his irises colorless.

Gokuu stood and faced the Auntie Medusa. "You killed him."

"It's his fault. He refused to do what I asked him."

Gokuu walked toward her. "No, _you _killed him." He disappeared and then reappeared before her. The Auntie Medusa gasped. His eyes appeared to be blank.

He punched. The fist pierced through her stomach and protruded through her back. The Auntie Medusa disintegrated.

Gokuu ran to Kuririn and slung him over the shoulder. He sprinted through the passageway. "If I hurry and get you to Dr. Dell, maybe he'll be able to save you."

Gokuu ran toward Max and Yamcha. The Shivas and Auntie Medusas were gone. Max stood and faced Yamcha. He looked at Gokuu.

"Gokuu, what's wrong?"

Gokuu sped past Max and Yamcha, blowing off Max's cap.

"I think he's carrying Kuririn," Yamcha said. "We'd better follow him."

Max picked up his cap. "I can't run as fast as him."

"I'll have to carry you, then."

* * *

A blur passed the piers, ran up the pier leading to Veniccio Station, and disappeared.

"What was that?" Claire said.

Muten Roushi stood. "Gokuu and Kuririn. We'd better see what happened."

* * *

Dr. Dell grinned and placed his hands on his hips. "Okay, Monica, your injuries have been healed. Luckily, there was no concussion this time."

Monica sat up. "Thanks, Dr. Dell. I'll get going. I'm sure the Max and the others aren't taking breaks between floors since Gokuu already picked up six Geostones." She stood from the train's bench, ran to the door, and reached toward the handle.

The door slammed open. Gokuu, who carried Kuririn, crashed into Monica. They fell, Gokuu buried in Monica's stomach. Kuririn covered Monica's face.

"Sorry, Monica." Gokuu scrambled off Monica and onto his feet. He dragged Kuririn off. He ran to Dr. Dell and Pau, who watched him, wide-eyed. "Some snakes poisoned Kuririn. You gotta hurry and save him."

Dr. Dell looked at the pale Kuririn. "Lay him on a bench."

Gokuu laid him where Monica had lay.

Dr. Dell grabbed Kuririn's wrist. He placed two hands against it. "I can faintly feel a beat. He's still alive."

Gokuu sighed and then grinned. "Thank goodness."

_But barely. _Dr. Dell withdrew Mighty Healing from his kit, which sat on a bench behind him. He administered it near the bite wounds on Kuririn's right ankle. "This'll kill the poison in this part of his body."

The door opened. Muten Roushi placed one foot inside. He raised his eyebrows. He looked down. His foot rested on Monica's face. He withdrew his foot and then jumped over her. He extended a hand toward her.

"I'm sorry, miss."

Monica twitched. A footprint appeared on her face. "I-it's fine."

* * *

The group surrounded Dr. Dell and Kuririn, Gokuu in front. They watched Dr. Dell rub medicine on Kuririn's wounds. Before Dr. Dell could administer Mighty Healing to his other bite wound, Kuririn's eyes snapped open.

Kuririn's eyes widened. He grabbed the Mighty Healing's handle.

"What are you doing?" Dr. Dell said.

"I'm not letting you give me that stuff again. I know I have to feel worse before I feel better, but that stuff killed me twice. I'm not letting you give it to me again."

"What are you talking about? Mighty Healing works right away."

"I think it's got somethin' to do with that poison," Gokuu said.

"I believe so as well. Gokuu, you said snakes poisoned him. I'm assuming they were small."

"Yeah."

"That was an Auntie Medusa's poison. The Gorgon family's poison is the most powerful poison in the world, next to the Snake family's poison, which includes Sea Serpents. Sea Serpents also reside in Ocean's Roar Cave. If you haven't encountered them yet, you probably will soon. Be extremely cautious when you do. Anyway, if you didn't get him here when you did, Kuririn would be dead."

"No, your needle's makin' me dead," Kuririn said, his eyes half-lidded. "It killed me twice. I wasn't able to go on a run with Gokuu."

Kuririn kicked the Mighty Healing out Dr. Dell's hand, and it flew upward. Dr. Dell caught it.

"Someone hold him down," Dr. Dell said.

"I'll do it." Max walked to Kuririn, gripped his knees, and pushed down.

Muten Roushi looked at Yamcha beside him. "We should help."

"All right."

They walked to Kuririn. Muten Roushi placed his hands on Kuririn's stomach. Yamcha gripped Kuririn's forearms and forced them onto the bench.

Dr. Dell pointed the Mighty Healing's needle toward Kuririn's left ankle. Gokuu grabbed Dr. Dell's wrist.

"Just in case he fights back," Gokuu said. Dr. Dell nodded.

They lowered the Mighty Healing. Kuririn tried to kick, but could not. He tried to punch, but could not. He tried to sit upright, but could not.

"No! If you do that, you'll kill me again, and I'll never be able to go on a run with Gokuu."

Kuririn headbutted Muten Roushi's forehead. A bruise began to form on both of their foreheads.

Dr. Dell and Gokuu embedded the needle beside the bite wound. Gokuu pressed the button on top.

Kuririn headbutted Muten Roushi's forehead. Muten Roushi gritted his teeth.

"What a hard head you have."

Kuririn's body sunk, and his eyes closed. He smiled. "Of course, Muten Roushi-sama. I'll show you those magazines for my next payment."

"Magazines?" Monica said.

"Oh, he's just talking nonsense."

"Even though he's still not making sense," Dr. Dell said, "the medicine is working. His skin's color is returning."

Pinkness filled Kuririn's skin. The group smiled. Some sighed.

"All the Mighty Healing's medicine has been injected. Thanks, Gokuu."

"Uh-huh."

Gokuu and Dr. Dell withdrew the Mighty Healing from Kuririn's skin. Kuririn began to snore. Max, Yamcha, and Muten Roushi released their hands from his body.

"He must be tired after fighting off that Auntie Medusa," Dr. Dell said. "He should awaken soon."

Gokuu turned to Pau. "Pau, if you don't mind, I wanna stay with him awhile."

Pau looked at Kuririn, and his eyes softened. "That's all right. I know the feeling."

The rest of the group wanted to stay at Kuririn's side as well. They remained with Kuririn until his awakening two hours later. He sat up and placed his head in his hands.

"What happened?" Kuririn opened his eyes. "Something bad, I'm guessing."

Gokuu explained what happened.

"That was poison? I saw all sorts of things I thought were real. Gokuu, did you ask me to go on a run with you?"

"No."

"And that Mighty Healing… I dreamed that it killed me twice, which isn't even possible."

"That must be some powerful poison," Yamcha said. "I really owe you, Kuririn. I'll definitely make it up to you."

"I look forward to that."

"None of us can be bitten by those snakes ever again," Monica said. "If this is what an Auntie Medusa's poison is like, I'd hate to see what a Sea Serpent's poison does."

"Dr. Dell, you think I'm okay to keep fighting?"

Dr. Dell nodded. "Yes, your injuries have been completely healed. Go ahead."

"All right." Kuririn hopped off the bench. "Let's go, guys."


	42. The Dragon of the Sea

**Chapter Forty-two: The Dragon of the Sea**

The trio, Kuririn, and Yamcha ran through Ocean's Roar Cave. They defeated any monsters and took any Geostones they encountered. Each time they ran through a tunnel that led to the next floor, they held hands.

As they ran through one of these tunnels, Max thought about his mother. She had read him a bedtime story about a turtle that traveled the seven seas.

His mother had told him about the sea—its appearance, its scent, its touch—but he could not visualize it. She had promised him that they would see it together when he became older.

"Mother…"

Monica looked at Max. Although it was dark, she noticed that his eyes contained the same haziness as on the train.

Max tripped over his feet and then fell facedown. His cap rolled off. The group fell with him, and water splashed around them.

Yamcha pushed himself onto his knees. "Another Seal?"

Max sat upright. "N-no, I just tripped." He took his cap and then placed it on his head. "Sorry. I was zoning out a bit. I'll pay attention from now on."

The group continued to run. Monica glanced at Max periodically. At times, his eyes would be as clear as the sky. At other times, his eyes would contain cloudiness.

_I hope we see Elena soon._

The group ran through one floor devoid of monsters.

"Oh, boy," Monica said. "I really hope the monsters aren't planning on having some kind of party for us like they did in Rainbow Butterfly Wood."

The group arrived at the end of the floor without incident. As they ran through another tunnel, Monica said, "Be careful, guys. The monsters could pop out at any moment."

A light shone in the distance. It brightened as they neared it. When they reached the Luna Stone, Monica touched it, and the gate opened. The group walked through it.

They stood in a clearing. A mural, which depicted a falling moon, stood across from them.

"I think this is the place where Shingala attacked Pau," Monica said.

"I wonder who painted that mural," Kuririn said.

"It's believed that the ancients created them. There are a bunch of them in my time. It's called, 'Moon of Destruction.'"

"Moon of Destruction?" Yamcha said. "That does not sound good."

"Yeah, what they show isn't good, either." She pointed at it. "That's an imaginary world where the moon comes crashing down, destroying mankind."

Yamcha gulped. "Oh, man. I hope that this isn't some kind of omen."

"Me, too. But there has to be a reason why there are so many of them."

Kuririn and Yamcha paled.

"Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to make you two afraid. If it makes you feel any better, nobody's been able to figure out what purpose they served."

"S-so, it could just be artistic." Kuririn's voice cracked. "Maybe they don't mean anything. Plus, you did say that's an imaginary world."

Yamcha raised a brow. "Whoever painted this must be a sadist."

"Or, they might be trying to tell us something," Monica said.

Kuririn and Yamcha paled further.

Monica placed a hand on the back of her head. "Sorry, I don't mean to keep scaring you guys. It's just a hunch."

"I hope it stays just a hunch, too," Kuririn said.

Shingala emerged from the water before the mural, and water poured off him like a waterfall. A blue device lay on his head.

"There's Shingala," Monica said. "Be careful, guys."

"Are we pullin' it off or usin' the Electric Fish?"

"It might hurt Shingala more if we use the Electric Fish," Max said. Monica looked at him. His eyes were sharp.

"Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamcha, try to pull it off," Monica said. "Be gentle with Shingala, though."

"Okay." Gokuu looked at Kuririn and Yamcha. "Let's go."

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha leaped onto Shingala's neck, Gokuu in front, Yamcha in the back, and Kuririn in the middle. Shingala began to swing his head from side to side.

Kuririn placed his hand over his mouth. "Oh, geez. I-I think I'm g-gonna be sick again."

"Get sick after we pull this device off," Yamcha said.

Gokuu gripped the edges of the device. "Kuririn, grab my arms, and Yamcha, grab Kuririn's arms."

Kuririn and Yamcha did so.

"All right. Let's start pullin'."

The three boys began to pull. Sparks danced around the device as it was lifted from Shingala's head. Shingala smashed his neck into the mural. The sides of the boys' backs took the brunt of the hit.

Vomit entered Kuririn's mouth. He swallowed it.

The boys continued to pull. The sparks moved to Gokuu's arm. Gokuu gritted his teeth.

"Guys, if the device starts electrocutin' you, keep goin'."

Shingala shook his neck more rapidly. Vomit erupted from Kuririn's mouth and then landed on Gokuu, who became covered in vomit.

Monica scrunched her face. "Ew…"

His hands slipped from the device. He leaned backward, and his legs clutched Shingala's neck. His back came inches away from Kuririn's head. The sparks moved to Kuririn's head.

"Youch!" Kuririn rammed his head into Gokuu's back. Gokuu fell facedown on Shingala's neck. The device bounced into its original position.

Shingala roared. He smashed his neck into the mural, and debris fell. He continued to shake his neck.

"S-s-sorry, Gokuu," Kuririn said. "I-I-I couldn't h-help it."

"We're gonna have to start over," Gokuu said. "Let's go."

They pulled. Shingala slammed his head into the mural. Gokuu's left hand and the device took the majority of the hit. The device fell to its original position. Gokuu gripped the device, and he, Kuririn, and Yamcha pulled. Each time they did so, Shingala would smash his head into the mural, and the device would slam into its original position.

"We're not getting anywhere like this," Yamcha said.

"Max, Monica, can you get him to turn away from the mural?" Kuririn said.

Max withdrew the Electric Fish from his pouch. "I might be able to distract him with this."

He raised the fish and then waved it. Shingala's head snapped toward it. Shingala salivated and charged toward it. Max and Monica began to run away.

"It looks like Dr. Jaming didn't make that device powerful enough," Monica said.

"Hurry, Gokuu." Max watched Shingala approach with the passing seconds. "We can't keep this up for much longer."

Gokuu tugged hard. Kuririn and Yamcha supported him. The device's sparks increased, and they spread to the boys so that sparks surrounded them. They gritted their teeth.

"Keep…pulling…!" Gokuu said.

Shingala froze. He pointed his head to the ceiling, and his jaw slacked.

The device popped off. Kuririn and Yamcha removed their hands from Gokuu's arms and Kuririn's arms respectively. They used their legs to push themselves off Shingala. They landed before Max and Monica, the device in Gokuu's hands.

Gokuu threw the device into the water before the mural. Sparks enveloped the device. It exploded.

Shingala's head fell to the ground, and dust clouded him. His body rose and fell.

Max smiled. "Looks like that did it."

Yamcha turned to Gokuu and Kuririn. "Let's get him back to Veniccio."

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha each grabbed one of Shingala's fins. They hoisted Shingala into the air, and the group ran toward the gate. Monica touched the Luna Stone, and the gate opened.

* * *

The group arrived in Veniccio. A pot torch stood in front of the red iron house. Buruma, Muten Roushi, Oolong, Puar, and Pau sat on the edge of the pier nearest Ocean's Roar Cave.

Pau stood, and his face brightened. He jumped into the ocean and then ran toward the group. The others on the pier followed.

The groups met each other. Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha placed Shingala on the sand.

Pau threw his arms around Shingala's neck. "Finally, you got him." He rubbed his head against Shingala's. "Did you all have a lot of trouble getting the device off him?"

"Not really," Kuririn said.

"Ah, good. Thanks so much." Pau threw his arms over Shingala's back and then rested his head on it. His head rose and fell with Shingala. "He must be really exhausted, and I bet you all are, too." He sniffed. He scrunched his face and pinched his nose. "Actually, I can smell one of you, and it doesn't smell like sweat."

Everyone looked at Gokuu.

"What?"

"I have no idea what happened to you," Buruma said, "and I don't want to know. You'd better take a bath."

"I have one in my cave. You all can rest there for the night. I have plenty of sleeping bags and space."

"It beats sleeping in the train." Monica smiled. "Thanks, Pau."

"No problem."

"I'll be in the green iron house." Buruma turned to Max. "Is that okay?"

"Since the other labs have already been restored, I guess it's all right."

"Good." Buruma entered the green house.

"I'd better get this big guy inside my cave."

"We'll do it," Gokuu said.

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha hoisted Shingala, and they ran inside Pau's cave. They lowered Shingala onto the carpet. The remainder of the group entered.

"Hang on for a bit while I grab the sleeping bags," Pau said.

"Thanks, Pau," Monica said. "We could use a rest. Let's go to Luna Lab tomorrow and ask the scientists if there's any way to communicate with the Shigura. After all, we can't ask for the medicine if we can't understand each other."

After Pau had gotten the sleeping bags, the group lay around Shingala. They fell asleep.

* * *

Muten Roushi was the first to awaken the following morning. He rolled over and then shook Gokuu.

Gokuu's eyes became half-lidded. "Kamesennin?"

"Shh. Listen, don't mention my blowing up the moon to anyone, understand?

"Why?"

"Because it's not necessary, that's why."

After the remainder of the group woke, they went to Luna Lab. They visited the red lab first. They told Osmond that they had removed the device from Shingala.

"I'm glad you were able to pull it off without hurting yourselves too badly," Osmond said. "Usually, the electricity would be too much."

"Do you have a device we can use to talk to Shigura?" Max said.

"Yes, but those are in the blue lab. Ask one of the scientists over there if they can lend you some."

The group left the red lab and then entered the blue lab. They looked around the interior, which resembled the red lab's interior, but was painted blue. A whizzing noise persisted.

They walked down the ramp. A boy in a lab coat met them.

The boy looked over the group. "Hey, there. I'm Dr. Nobb. I'm the head researcher here."

Monica and Buruma gasped. Monica asked why a kid was in Luna Lab, and Dr. Nobb said that only ability and brains mattered in Luna Lab.

"So that means you're the smartest person here, then?" Max said.

"I guess you could say that. By the way, I know Max, Monica, and Gokuu are restoring the origin points Griffon destroyed."

"Y-you know our names?" Monica said.

"Yes, I've done a fair bit of research on you three." He looked over the remainder of the group. "I don't know about the rest of the folks you have here, though. Are they new allies?"

Gokuu nodded. "Yeah."

The group introduced themselves.

Dr. Nobb's smile widened. "The more people restoring the world, the better. Before you came, I had the computer run an analysis. I know what you're searching for."

"Really?" Max said. "Then you know that we're looking for a device to talk to Shigura."

"Huh? I thought you needed to go 10,000 years in the past."

"Well, that, too. But first, we need something to talk to Shigura with."

"A Shigura translation device? We already have one of those."

"Why are they necessary?" Buruma said. "I mean, why do you need to talk to Shigura?"

"Shigura are very important creatures to us here at the lab. Once a year, they come from the south island to this shore and bring a stone called the Luna Stone. Luna Stones have the ability to rapidly increase human brainpower. Those are the reason why this laboratory is home to the world's best thinkers."

Buruma placed a hand on her hip. "So, did you use them to become the head researcher?"

"No. All my smarts are natural. It seems that the Luna Stone can only increase one's I.Q. up to 180, which is a genius' I.Q. After that, the I.Q. won't increase no matter how many Luna Stones are applied. We're trying to think of a way to increase its maximum amount. My I.Q. just happens to be much higher than 180."

Kuririn gulped. "Wh-what is it?"

"My I.Q. is 240."

The group gasped, and their eyes widened further.

Buruma's jaw dropped. "Holy crap."

"If the Shigura bring Luna Stones every year," Yamcha said, "does their intelligence increase?"

"Just holding them doesn't do anything. You need a special machine to apply them, which we have. Many of the scientists here have a genius' I.Q., some natural, some artificial. Dr. Osmond has a natural I.Q. of 220. That's higher than most scientists'."

Oolong crossed his arms. "It didn't seem like he had such a high I.Q. when we talked to him."

"Even though intelligence can be artificially applied, ability matters just as much, if not, more. That's why the competition for becoming a scientist here is so harsh. You may have the same I.Q., but factors such as creativity and experience come into play. Dr. Osmond is incredibly creative. That, combined with his high I.Q., is why he's one of the top researchers.

"Sorry. I got carried away with my explanation." He turned around to face another scientist, who sat and stared at a screen. "Hey, you."

"Yes, sir?" The scientist stood and then walked to Dr. Nobb.

"Go get me three Shell Talkies."

"Yes, sir." The scientist turned a corner. A moment later, he returned with three white and gold devices. Spikes protruded from their bottoms. A red button lay on the top of their antennae. He gave them to Dr. Nobb.

"Thanks." Dr. Nobb gave the devices to Max. "Here you go. The time of year when the Shigura come here is approaching, so we'd rather not give you any more."

"It's fine," Muten Roushi said. "All of us don't need to understand what they're saying."

"You'll only be able to understand Shigura with a high level of intelligence. Not Shigura children, for example. Please return them when you're finished."

Max nodded. "We will."

"See you, then, and good luck."

The group ran out of the lab.

"You think that he's one of Donny's descendants?" Monica said.

The group looked at her. Max raised an eyebrow.

"Think about it: Donny was needed in the blue house, and a kid, who kinda looks like Donny, works in the blue lab."

"If he's the head researcher," Max said, "then wouldn't he be working in all the labs?"

"Good point. I still think he's related to Donny, though. Long, brown hair like Donny, he smiles as wide as Donny… And Donny is pretty smart."

Kuririn frowned. "Are you saying that a Moon Person is one of Claire's descendants?"

Monica placed a hand on the back of her head. "I'm going to repeat what Max said: If he's one of the top researchers, he'd be working in all the labs."

"Maybe the top researchers are only in charge of certain labs," Max said. "Maybe Dr. Osmond is only in charge of the red lab, and maybe there are three other top researchers in charge of the blue, purple, and green labs."

"Buruma, since you moved in the green house," Gokuu said, "then your descendant should be in the green lab."

Buruma blushed. "If that's the case, that means that whoever works in the green lab is Yamcha and I's grandchild."

Yamcha grinned and blushed.

"I don't think their descendants are here," Kuririn said. "C'mon, a _Moon Person _as _Claire's _descendant?"

Yamcha snickered. "You never know. She could get together with a Moon Person, like that one we saw in Palm Brinks."

A moment of silence passed.

"That'd be strange," Oolong said.

Buruma narrowed her eyes. "Look who's talking."

The group was silent as they surrounded the time gate. Monica walked into its center.

"All right," Max said. "Let's head to Shigura Village."


	43. The Mourning Dead

**Chapter Forty-three: The Mourning Dead**

"Here lies our former Captain," a Pirate Tank said. It, another Pirate Tank, and Hornheads stood before a grave on Ocean's Roar Cave's shore. Sand Molers' heads poked above ground. A Captain's hat was buried. "Well, our Captain's hat, but the sentiment is the same."

"I'll bet all my bones that he'd like to be buried next to his treasure," a Hornhead said.

"Yeah, for sure. I think it's in the humans' territory now. Let's go there, grab it, and blast the humans' stuff to pieces. While we're at it, let's blast the humans themselves. That way, they can't blast us anymore, and we don't have to worry about them taking over our territory again."

"I've heard there's a lot of them," the other Tank said. "And I've heard that one human killed a fellow Tank, and that same human killed an Auntie Medusa in one blast."

"The Shivas and other Auntie Medusas should be pretty angry about it," a Hornhead said. "Maybe we should get them to help."

A Pirate Tank narrowed its eye. "No. We'll do it ourselves. I want revenge for our Captain by my own nozzle, not anyone else's."

A Sand Moler buried itself farther. "In that case, we'll take them by surprise." It looked at two other Sand Molers, and they nodded.

"Okay," a Hornhead said. "Let's be careful so they don't break all our bones."

The Pirate Tank rolled toward the entrance. "Let's go."

* * *

When the group returned to Veniccio, they saw Mayor Need, who carried two suitcases and walked down the pier that led to Veniccio Station.

He waved. "Hello." He walked to the group. "I'm not sure if Cedric's told you, but I've come to live here. He told me that the purple iron house is vacant and that no one is needed inside it. I can live near Claire."

"That's great, Mayor Need," Max said. "But what about everyone in Palm Brinks?"

"Most of them have come a long way. Some of them are going outside at night now, and they've stopped looking over their shoulders. Morton's in charge of Palm Brinks now, and I'm sure he's doing a great job. Which reminds me: I need a mailbox so I can keep in touch with him and the citizens from Palm Brinks."

"I'll make it for you." Buruma turned to the trio, Kuririn, and Yamcha. "Oolong, Puar, Kamesennin and I will get him settled. You guys go to Shigura Village."

Monica nodded. "Right."

The trio, Kuririn, and Yamcha ran toward Ocean's Roar Cave. A group of silhouettes approached them, and they stopped.

Monica raised her Dusack. "Now who is it?"

"Let's wait and see," Max said.

The silhouettes brightened. Two Pirate Tanks, four Hornheads, and three Sand Molers neared them.

"I heard the bald one and the tall, black-haired one killed our Captain." A Pirate Tank stopped and eyed the other Tank. "Let's blast them."

"All right." The Tank stopped, as did the remainder of the monsters. The Sand Molers poked their heads above ground. "The short, black-haired one killed one of our fellow Tanks, but let's kill the bald and tall ones first."

One Sand Moler's eyes widened. Those houses, piers, those were the structures that were nearly placed in Ocean's Roar Cave. It covered its ears; it heard clanking noises from the humans, who hammered to build their structures. One human who stood some yards away also wielded a hammer. A large one.

It watched humans run from the structures and into Ocean's Roar Cave. They wielded swords. Before one Sand Moler could dive underground, a human sliced it in half. Fintols rolled into humans' legs and caused them to fall. Some humans shot guns, and the bullets pierced through a Sooty's body. The Sooty shaped its arms into a sword and drill and slid toward the humans.

The Sand Moler dove deep underground. It dug through Ocean's Roar Cave until it could no longer hear the bloodshed, the war cries, the clanking noises, until it could no longer see the humans, their structures, monsters disintegrate. It hid in the small hole where the pirates kept their treasure and remained until—

"Hey!"

The Sand Moler's head snapped toward another of its kind.

"We just said we'll dig up on the other humans. Got it?"

"Y-yeah."

"Focus. Show the humans no mercy."

The Sand Moler bared its teeth. _I don't want to hear or see any more humans. _"Let's go."

The Sand Molers dove underground.

A Hornhead looked at the other Hornheads. "We'll break the other humans' bones."

The Hornheads swung their flails in circles.

"How come they're just standing there?" Gokuu said. "If they wanna fight, they should come over here."

"Maybe they're thinking of a way to settle this peacefully," Kuririn said.

"Of course not," Monica said. "They're monsters, after all."

One Pirate Tank rolled toward Kuririn, and the other rolled toward Yamcha.

"Revenge for killing one of their fellow pirates, I guess," Yamcha said. "We'd better get the jump on them first." He and Kuririn leaped toward the Pirate Tanks.

"Each of those skeleton monsters must be coming after us." Max winced and looked over his shoulder. A Sand Moler was buried behind him, its head lowered. "Watch out. Those Molers are trying to sneak up on us."

The Sand Moler jumped toward Max. Max bashed its face with his Cubic Hammer, and it flew backward. It bounced off the blue house and then fell, facedown, onto the pier.

The Sand Moler saw the human's hammer, which floated in the darkness. It heard clanking noises. It covered its ears.

The clanking noises ceased. The hammer swung toward it, and it became engulfed in water. Then, it became buried in sand. The Sand Moler smiled. It was in its natural habitat, and it could no longer hear or see the humans, the structures, the clanking noises, nor bloodshed.

Through the hole in the pier, Max watched the Sand Moler disintegrate. He whirled around and then placed his back against the blue house. A Hornhead charged toward him as it swung its flail in circles. Max swung his Cubic Hammer toward its head. He knocked its head into the sea, and it began to bob.

The Hornhead swung its flail into Max's torso, and the wind was knocked out of him. Searing pain coursed through his torso as the spikes embedded themselves inside his chest and stomach. He fell against the house, denting it.

_It's moving without a head. _

Max aimed his Question Shooter at the Hornhead's torso and then shot. The beam caused its bones to collapse into a pile. The flail remained in his torso, and its chain hung. He grabbed the chain and then pulled out the flail. He tossed the flail onto the bones. The bones snapped in half, and the Hornhead disintegrated.

Max exhaled. He looked at the spot in which the Hornhead's head had fallen.

* * *

The Pirate Tank thrust itself into Kuririn's stomach. Kuririn hollered and flew backward.

"You, you killed my Captain. We'd have been together forever, and then you humans arrived. For that, I'll blast you to pieces."

As Kuririn slid on the sand, he thought, _I could understand him. _He stopped his slide, and he touched the white earring. _That's right. I still have this weird earring on._

Out of the corner of its eye, the Tank saw a headless Hornhead's bones and flail, which lay on a pier, disintegrate.

"Change of plans, everyone. Let's go straight for the treasure instead so we can bury it with our Captain. We'll blast the humans later."

The monsters released a war cry. The two Sand Molers dove underground.

One Hornhead bashed Monica's face with its flail and then ran toward the piers.

Monica scowled as blood rolled down her face. "Damn, not again."

A Hornhead smashed Gokuu's head with its flail, and Gokuu slammed onto the sand, his eyes cloudy. It and another Hornhead sprinted toward the piers.

Buruma screamed. She, Oolong, and Puar ran into the green house. Muten Roushi ran inside the red house. Mayor Need, whose head showed in the green house's window, backed away.

Max, who stood near Monica, said, "They're heading towards the houses."

"We have to stop them," Monica said. "Hurry."

The group chased the monsters. Max shot his Question Shooter. The monsters jumped onto the piers, under which the beams passed.

A Hornhead swung its flail into the red house's door. A hole tore open. Claire screamed as it swung its flail. The hole's size increased. The Hornhead jumped inside. Claire pressed herself against the wall farthest from it. Muten Roushi stood before her and took a battle stance.

"Hold on, Claire. I'm coming." Max jumped onto the pier. As he ran toward the Hornhead, he aimed for its head and then shot. The beam hit the back of its head. The head shot off its body and against the wall. It fell and then rolled some feet. Claire stepped away from the head.

"Thank you, Max." Claire's smile disappeared, and she screamed. The Hornhead ran toward she and Muten Roushi. It swung its flail in circles with one hand and reached toward them with the other.

Max sprinted toward it, his hammer raised. He jumped and then thrust his hammer downward. The Hornhead leaped sideways. The hammer slammed onto the ground. The quake caused Claire to fall upright.

Max aimed his Question Shooter at the Hornhead's torso. The Hornhead began to run around the house and swing its flail. It broke the television, the windows, and any other object it came across. It leaned sideways, ducked, and jumped, and the Question Shooter's beams hit the walls and furniture. Max gritted his teeth.

The Hornhead leaped through a broken window. Max looked out that window. The Hornhead ran up the pier that led to Veniccio Station.

Max withdrew his Help Receiver. He pressed the button in its center and then placed it upon his ear. "Steve, it's Max. There's a skeleton monster heading towards Veniccio Station. I'm not exactly sure what it wants, but it might be coming after that treasure."

"Thanks for the heads up. I'll definitely keep 'em away."

* * *

"Tear up their territory like they almost did to ours, and get our Captain's treasure back."

A Pirate Tank burst through the blue house's door. Pieces of iron scattered throughout. One bounced off a sleeping Donny's forehead.

Donny scrambled upright and looked around. His eyes settled on the Hornhead.

"Geez, ever since I've been here, I haven't been able to get one day of quiet." His hand slid on the nightstand for his gun.

"Don't worry, I'll beat him." Yamcha leaped before the Pirate Tank. He thrust his hands against the Tank's head, and it stopped. "Sorry, but I can't let you past me."

The Pirate Tank released a cannonball. It slammed into Yamcha's stomach. Yamcha flew backward.

Donny dove onto the nightstand. Yamcha crashed through the wall behind the bed. He fell into the sea, and the cannonball pulsed.

The cannonball exploded. Yamcha slammed onto the sand, and the sea appeared to erupt as though it were a volcano. Water and sand splattered onto the pier.

Yamcha surfaced and clutched his stomach, which had a cannonball-sized bruise. "I should've known better." He ran toward the pier and then looked down. "If this is the sea, why is it so shallow?" He looked at the blue house. "Focus."

A Sand Moler burst from the sand. Yamcha tripped over it. He stumbled, and the Sand Moler's head bent ninety degrees. Yamcha heard a cracking noise.

The Sand Moler straightened, and its body cracked. Yamcha faced the Sand Moler. It tackled him into the sea. It dug its nails into his sides.

"Sorry to sound pathetic," Donny said, "but I need help over here. This monster's gettin' kinda close, and I don't have any good weapons."

Yamcha punched the Sand Moler's head. Its eyes hazed, and he kicked it upward. The Sand Moler flew into the sky. It seemed to disappear into a cloud.

Yamcha surfaced, ran to the pier, jumped on it, and ran inside the blue house. Donny crouched so that his body became hidden behind the bed. The Pirate Tank approached. The house's contents had been broken.

Yamcha ran around to the Tank's backside. He punched it. A hole ruptured. Its eye widened, and it released a laser. The laser pierced through the bed. Donny jumped sideways, and the laser burnt through the wall. It flew into the distance.

Donny poked his head above the bed. "Don't forget about me, man."

"I didn't. That was just an accident." Yamcha jumped above the Tank. He stomped on its top. His foot pierced the armor. Electricity danced around it, and he withdrew it. He landed before the Tank.

He elbowed the Tank's eye. The Tank closed it and rolled backward.

"Argh, I can't see. My eye, you blasted it, it's gone. See?" The Tank opened its eye. It was black.

"In that case, I'll put an end to your misery now."

Yamcha ran around the Tank and punched it rapidly. Wires protruded from the holes his punches left, and sparks danced around the Tank.

_He's gonna explode. _Yamcha jumped, grabbed Donny around the waist, and leaped out the window. He landed in the sea.

The Tank exploded. Pieces of the house and its contents scattered.

"Thanks for savin' me. You can put me down now."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Yamcha did so. He winced and then looked at his stomach.

"You okay?"

Yamcha shrugged. "Nothing Dr. Dell can't fix."

Donny's frown deepened. He stared at the blue house's remnants. "I sure hope that guy didn't blow up my coin collection too. But even if he did, that's all right. I'd pick my life over a coin collection any day."

* * *

Gokuu jumped inside the hole a Hornhead had created. It and another Hornhead approached Mayor Need, who cowered behind the bed.

Mayor Need's eyes flickered up. "G-Gokuu, you're here. Thank goodness. How's Claire?"

"Max went in her house to protect her, and Kamesennin's in there to protect her, too. They're real strong, so she should be safe." Gokuu jumped before the Hornheads. "You guys're gonna have to get past me."

The Hornheads charged toward Gokuu. When they neared him, Gokuu jumped. He punched both of them in the face with one fist each. Their heads shot off and then landed near the door.

The heads rolled around to face their bodies. Their bodies attempted to jump over Gokuu. Gokuu grabbed their legs and then threw them into the wall opposite him. The bodies shattered into bones.

Mayor Need gawked. "W-were they moving without heads?"

Gokuu glared at the bones. "Yeah."

"Oh, my word." Mayor Need slammed against the wall and then slid onto the floor.

The bones rattled. They floated some feet. They connected and formed the Hornheads' bodies. Their heads laughed as the bodies approached Gokuu.

Mayor Need, who peeked above the bed, fell onto his side.

"I'll have to snap their bones in half, then." Gokuu disappeared and then reappeared behind the Hornheads. He snatched a bone that was below one's knee. The body collapsed. Gokuu snapped the bone in half. He threw the halves out the hole in the door.

The bones floated. They neared Gokuu and swung back and forth. Gokuu backed away.

The other Hornhead grabbed its comrade's fallen flail. It swung both flails in circles.

Gokuu grabbed a bone nearest to him. Another bone bashed him on the head. He grabbed that bone. He threw them out the hole in the door.

The other bones began to bash Gokuu. The Hornhead swung its flails and hit Gokuu in different parts of his body. Gokuu leaped sideways. He winced and grabbed the back of his head. He whirled around. The bones he had thrown away floated.

_Shoulda broken them first._

Gokuu jumped over the Hornhead. The Hornhead swung both flails into the backs of Gokuu's knees. Gokuu fell onto his back.

The Hornhead swung the flails. Gokuu grabbed them. Their spikes pierced the palm of his hand. He thrust them out of the Hornhead's hands. He threw them, and they crashed through the wall.

Gokuu bent his knees and then kicked the Hornhead's torso. The Hornhead collapsed. Its torso's bones snapped in half. It disintegrated.

Gokuu jumped onto his feet. The bones approached him. He looked at the head near the door, which watched its bones.

Gokuu walked toward the head. "You must be controllin' them. If I can get rid of you, these guys wouldn't know what to do."

The bones began to bash Gokuu's head. With every hit, the world dimmed. Gokuu swiveled around, grabbed two bones, and threw them across the room. He grabbed every bone that neared him and threw them. Soon, none were near him.

He ran to the head. He stomped on it with both feet. The head cracked. Its halves fell and then disintegrated.

Gokuu faced the other bones. They clattered on the floor, and they disintegrated.

He looked at the bed. "You all right, Mayor Need?"

Silence.

"Mayor Need?" Gokuu walked to the bed and then peered over it. Mayor Need was slumped against the wall. His eyes were closed, and he chuckled constantly.

* * *

Monica raised her Dusack as Kuririn took a battle stance. The Pirate Tank and Hornhead stood beside each other. The Hornhead swung its flail in circles, and it grinned.

Buruma pressed herself against the wall farthest from the monsters, the device to call the Carpenterion clutched in her hand. She looked from the monsters, to Monica and Kuririn, and back again. Oolong lay on his stomach under the bed. His hands touched the top of his head. Puar quaked under the bedcovers. The bed shook with him.

Monica eyed Kuririn. "I'll fight the skeleton. My sword and magic won't do much good against the Tank."

"Fine by me."

Monica ran to the Hornhead and then crossed her Dusack before her face. The flail hit the Dusack, and the Dusack cracked. Monica lowered her Dusack. The Hornhead continued its swing. Monica backflipped. Its flail grazed her chin, and a red line was left behind.

_My sword won't do much good. _Monica deposited her Dusack in her pouch. She began to charge her Platinum Brassard. The Hornhead ran toward her as it swung its flail in circles.

Once it was fully charged, Monica released the fireball. The fireball exploded on the Hornhead's shoulder, but it continued to run.

_My magic isn't doing much good against him either. _Monica jumped sideways, and the Hornhead slammed its flail onto the ground. Two of the flail's spikes became embedded in the floor. The Hornhead began to pull.

Monica released a multitude of fireballs. Each exploded on different parts of the Hornhead's body. The Hornhead flinched with each explosion.

Monica ran toward it and withdrew her Dusack. The Hornhead pulled out its flail. It stumbled backward. Monica swung her Dusack against its neck. Its head popped off and then landed on the bed. Puar flew out the covers and to the ceiling. He released a small scream. The Hornhead walked toward Monica.

"H-how can it see without its head?" Puar said.

Monica raised an eyebrow. "I've gotta admit, that _is_ a little creepy." _Now, if I could somehow get that weapon away from it, I'd be able to use my sword properly._

Monica aimed at the Hornhead's hand and then released a fireball. The fireball exploded upon contact, and the Hornhead dropped its flail. Monica ran toward it. She released many fireballs. They exploded against the Hornhead's weapon-wielding hand. It flinched with each hit.

Monica reached the Hornhead. She sliced off its hand. The hand fell on top of the flail. As the Hornhead lowered its other hand to pick up its flail, Monica swung her Dusack. That hand was sliced off, and it fell on the floor.

Monica cringed. One of the hands had lifted the flail and embedded one of its spikes in her shin.

_That's crazy. _Monica jumped backward, and the spike slid out. The hand crawled toward her. It dragged the flail. The other hand tapped its fingers against the floor. The Hornhead's body crossed its arms.

* * *

_I wonder how Gokuu defeated this thing before. _

Kuririn stood across from the Pirate Tank, its nozzle pointed toward him. _I know one thing, though: That thing could shoot anytime. _

He jumped. The Pirate Tank turned around. Kuririn landed, and the Tank's nozzle faced Kuririn.

_That won't work, huh? I'd better take it down quickly._

Kuririn jumped overhead and then landed on its top. He punched. His fist pierced through its body. Electricity danced around his fist, and he withdrew it. It was scorched black. He blew on it multiple times.

The Pirate Tank released a laser. The laser burnt through the bed. Buruma yelped and sidestepped. The laser pierced through the wall. It flew into the distance.

The Tank thrust its top upward, and Kuririn was thrown off. His back slammed against the wall, near Buruma.

"Get away from me." Buruma ran to the other side of the room. "If it attacks you, I'll be caught in the crossfire."

Kuririn narrowed his eyes. "I love how you're always looking out for everyone's well-being." He flipped onto his feet.

The Tank aimed at Buruma.

"N-no, don't attack me, attack him." She pointed at Kuririn. "He's the one who's actually fighting against you. I can't hurt you at all."

The Tank began to draw in air.

Kuririn leaped to the Tank, gripped its sides, and thrust it so that its nozzle pointed toward him. The Tank released a cannonball. The cannonball slammed into Kuririn's face. He flew backward. He outstretched his arms behind his body. His hands and head slammed against the wall near the bed. His neck bent ninety degrees. Oolong and Puar scrambled and floated to Buruma.

Kuririn gritted his teeth. The cannonball began to pulse.

* * *

Monica jumped to the Hornhead's hand and then landed swordfirst. Her sword pierced the middle of the hand. Before the flail, which continued to swing, could reach her Dusack, she backflipped. The Dusack slid out.

She looked at the head, which faced the scene.

_Maybe it won't be able to fight properly if I get rid of its head. _Monica ran to the head and then grabbed it. She stabbed the window, and it shattered. She threw the head into the sea. A current washed it under the pier.

The Hornhead's body and hands turned in all directions. One hand swung the flail in circles.

Monica jumped to the Hornhead's body. She began to slice different parts of its body in all directions. She stopped. The body collapsed. It and the remainder of its body disintegrated.

Monica looked around for Kuririn. She saw his hands and head pressed against the wall, a pulsing cannonball on his head.

Kuririn gripped the cannonball's sides. It exploded.

Kuririn crashed out the iron house's wall. Monica, Buruma, Oolong, and Puar slammed against the wall opposite Kuririn. Kuririn fell into the sea, clothes tattered, face blotched.

_Gotta keep going._ He swam to the pier, jumped onto it, and ran inside the iron house.

The world dimmed. The Tank's nozzle was pointed toward him. It released a laser. Kuririn jumped sideways, and the laser flew out the hole in the wall.

Kuririn disappeared. The Tank turned around. He reappeared and then jumped on top of the Tank.

The world dimmed further. Kuririn fell off the Tank, onto his back. The Tank pointed its nozzle toward him and then released a laser. The laser hit Kuririn's chest, and it erupted in flame. Kuririn hollered and began to roll back and forth.

Monica released a fireball. The fireball exploded on the Tank's side. The Tank faced Monica and then released a laser. Monica crossed her Dusack before her body. The laser hit her Dusack. Her Dusack's blade became crimson.

"Ouch." Monica dropped her Dusack and shook her hand. Her Dusack began to melt.

_My sword. _Monica withdrew Repair Powder from her pouch. She sprinkled it over the Dusack. The Dusack's melted parts returned to their original positions, as though her Dusack performed the opposite of melting. The Dusack's blade became silver, and the melted parts hardened.

Monica raised the Dusack. The Tank glared.

Kuririn, who had extinguished the flame, flipped onto his feet. He jumped, a fist extended. He punched another hole in the Tank. He withdrew his fist. Sparks danced around the hole, and wires protruded. The sparks disappeared.

Monica leaped to the hole Kuririn had made and stuck her Dusack inside. She sliced the Tank upward. A cut was left in her wake. The Tank's halves clanked on the floor.

"It's gonna explode again," Kuririn said.

Buruma, Oolong, and Puar scrambled out the hole in the wall.

"Kuririn, what're you waiting for?"

"Just trying to make sure everyone gets out safely. Go."

Monica's eyes darted up and down his body. She turned and jumped out the hole.

Kuririn ran toward the hole. The Tank exploded. He hollered as he began to fly toward Monica, Buruma, Oolong, and Puar, who stood in the sea. They ran sideways.

Some yards away from them, Kuririn slammed onto the sea's bottom. He lay for some seconds, motionless. He stirred, gasped, and then surfaced. Monica, Buruma, Oolong, and Puar stood before him.

"I'm fine." He grinned and placed his hands on his hips.

Monica raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

His grin widened. "Positive."

Monica stared at Kuririn for a moment and then exhaled. She smiled. Kuririn blushed and placed a hand on the back of his head.

"We make a good team," Monica said. "Who would've thought, since our fighting styles are so different?"

"Y-yeah. We do." To Kuririn, Monica and the world appeared to dim.

Monica frowned. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Kuririn looked at his body. Scorch marks covered some areas of it, and his clothes had become rags. The world became black. "Yeah, but that explosion…" He fell facedown.

* * *

The Ridepod swung its Samurai Swords in circles. "Heh, I finally get to try these babies out."

"I know you're excited, Steve," Cedric said, "but be careful."

Borneo and Erik, who stood beside Cedric, nodded.

"Yeah, I know, I know."

A Pirate Tank rolled into the station. It glared at the Ridepod.

"Why, hello there, little guy," the Ridepod said. "Come to fight?"

"So, you're sided with the humans too. I bet you helped them kill my Captain. I'll blast you to nothing for that."

"Captain?"

The Tank released a laser. The Ridepod lowered one sword, and the beam was deflected onto the wall near the entrance.

The Ridepod ran to the Tank and then sliced it in half. The Tank disintegrated.

"Aw, man," the Ridepod said. "I didn't mean to take it out that quickly." He swung his swords as though he fought. "I really wanted to try these out properly. In a proper fight. Which I didn't get to do."

"The important thing is, you took it down," Erik said. "And you protected us. I'm sure Max, Monica, Gokuu, and the rest will need you in the dungeon soon."

"I sure hope so. I mean, I hope they don't get in so much trouble that they hang onto life with a single thread, but I want them to use me soon."

* * *

Kuririn twitched. He sat upright. Monica, Buruma, and Oolong kneeled before him on the pier behind the green house's remnants. Puar floated above his face.

He placed a hand on his forehead. "What happened? Oh, right. The explosion." He looked at the four. "I'm fine, guys. That explosion just caught me off-guard." He and the others stood.

"Thank goodness." Monica looked at one of the broken windows. "I haven't heard any commotion for a few minutes. I'm guessing everyone else just finished their fights, too. Let's go outside."

Kuririn, Oolong, Puar, and the girls left the house. The remainder of the group stood near the eight piers, on the sand. The Ridepod stood before them.

"My fight ended in less than a second," the Ridepod said. "There have got to be better monsters inside the cave."

"I'm sure you'll get your chance soon, Steve," Max said. "We haven't seen any machine monsters yet, other than those Tanks."

The Ridepod raised its swords and then swung them. "Ah. Since they're so deep in the cave, they must be really strong. I sure hope so."

Monica chuckled. "You kinda remind me of Gokuu, Steve."

The group's heads snapped toward Monica, Kuririn, Buruma, Oolong, and Puar, who stood outside the green house.

"Hey, you guys finished." Yamcha looked Kuririn up and down. He smirked. "Looks like _someone _had a little trouble again."

"The Tank exploded, all right?" His eyes settled on the bruise on his stomach. "And it looks like you didn't have such an easy time, either."

Yamcha blushed, and his smirk faded. "W-well, you know, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"Looks like everyone's okay, other than that," Monica said. "I have a feeling that since we defeated those pirates and their Tanks, the rest of those monsters are really coming after us now. We have to be much more careful."

The group nodded. Some said, "Okay."

"Let's get some rest in Pau's cave again. I'm sure he won't mind."

The group agreed. They entered Pau's cave, save Buruma, who called the Carpenterion. Inside the cave, Shingala, his eyes closed, rose and fell. Pau sat with his back against him.

Pau stood. His eyes studied the group. "Looks like you guys are still in one piece. I watched those fights until something exploded." He eyed Shingala. "That explosion woke Shingala up, and it took me quite a while to get him back to sleep."

"Sorry about that," Monica said.

Pau smiled. "But that doesn't mean that you all aren't welcome to sleep in here tonight. Those fights looked pretty rough. Get all the rest you need."

"Thanks, Pau," Max said. "We will."

The group snuggled in their sleeping bags and rested. Kuririn slept the most deeply.


	44. Improvements

**Chapter Forty-four: Improvements**

In one of Ocean's Roar Cave's clearings, three Beach Rats, ten Captains, four Pirate Tanks, and two Neo Vanguards sat around a boulder.

A Beach Rat looked up at the Neo Vanguards. "You gotta keep those humans outta our territory. They've already killed three of our own, and they'll kill lots more if they're not stopped."

"They already have killed many more," a Captain said. "They've killed a few of our Pirate Tanks and some of the Auntie Medusas, including one that I sailed with." It wiped its eye.

"Their goal can't be good, Captain," a Pirate Tank said. "They might be planning to take over our territory again."

The Captain nodded. "Aye. They've stolen our treasure as well." It looked at the Neo Vanguards. "That's why we need you to stop them. I don't care what you do. Just get our treasure back, kill them all, and destroy their structures."

"What's in it for us?" a Neo Vanguard said.

The Captain trembled. "We'll g-g-give you s-s-some…"

"We'll give you some of our treasure," the Pirate Tank said. "But only if you get it back."

"Exactly how much?"

"W-we'll g-g-g-give you a q-q-q-quarter o-o-of…"

"Thanks. We'll definitely take them out." The Neo Vanguard pounded its torso with its spear-like arm as the Balloon monster inside it grinned. "You can count on that."

* * *

In the morning, Dr. Dell applied medicine that allowed the group to recover fully. Afterwards, the group entered Ocean's Roar Cave. They held each others' hands as they ran through the tunnel that led to the next floor. They heard a crunching sound.

"Ouch!" Kuririn began to limp. "Gokuu, did you step on my foot again?"

"I might've. I can't see at all in here."

"That's the third time. Augh, why are these tunnels so dark?"

"I see a light up ahead," Max said. "That must be the gate."

Inches away from the gate, Yamcha collided with a barrier and then fell onto his back. The group fell with him.

Yamcha and the remainder of the group sat upright. "What was that?"

Monica rubbed her forehead. "I think that was another Seal. That's strange, though. You don't have an Atlamillia, but there's a Seal preventing you from going farther."

Max walked to the barrier and then placed his hand on it. The area that the hand touched became red. "Looks like it's a Red Seal this time."

"It has to be something more than that if it kept Yamcha-san out." Kuririn jogged toward the barrier, his arm outstretched. He touched the barrier, and his body jerked forward. Black encompassed the area his hand touched. "Maybe it's a Black Seal."

"Black Seal?" Gokuu ran toward the Seal. He stopped when his hand touched it. Black enveloped the area he touched. "That's new."

Yamcha stood and then touched the barrier. "I'm guessing Griffon wants to keep us out."

Monica walked past the barrier. "I'm the only one who can get past this Seal, so I'll defeat all the monsters in this floor. That'll break it."

Max nodded. "All right. Good luck."

"Yeah, do your best, Monica," Gokuu said.

"Thanks, guys. I will."

The boys watched Monica run through the gate and into the distance.

* * *

When she saw an Aqua Element, Monica stopped. She closed her eyes and began to visualize lightning strike invisible objects. A purple orb appeared in her hand and began to grow. Once the orb's enlargement ceased, she opened her eyes and tossed it. The orb hovered in the air for a moment and then zapped the Aqua Element.

It raised its arms as sparks danced around it. It became bug-eyed, and its jaw slackened.

Monica ran to the Aqua Element and then slashed it horizontally, vertically, diagonally. The sparks faded as she did so.

The Aqua Element narrowed its eyes and gritted its teeth. It outstretched its arms. Monica jumped, her Dusack lifted overhead, as it clapped its hands thrice. Its eyes widened as it watched Monica near it. It opened its mouth widely and began to wail. Monica cringed.

She sliced the Aqua Element's head in half vertically, and it disintegrated. She landed on her feet. She scrunched her face, her lips curled inward. Her ears rang.

Something stomped toward her. She turned toward the corridor from which the stomping emanated and raised her Dusack.

_That monster's scream must've been a cry for help. But that stomping sounds like a machine. _She gripped the Dusack tighter_. I really hope it isn't._

A square silhouette appeared. It brightened and then revealed itself to be a Neo Vanguard. Monica stepped back.

"Oh, boy." She glared. _It might not be able to be controlled if I kill the monster inside._

She charged her brassard fully, aimed at the Balloon monster sitting inside the Neo Vanguard, and released an electric orb. It hovered above the Balloon monster and then sped toward it. The Neo Vanguard held its spear-like arm before the Balloon monster. The electricity zapped the Neo Vanguard's spear. The sparks disappeared. The Neo Vanguard lowered its spear, revealing the Balloon monster's grin.

Monica turned and ran away from the approaching Neo Vanguard. _There's no way I can kill that monster if it keeps defending itself. I'd better get Max to call the Ridepod._

Another Neo Vanguard slid out from a corridor. Monica stopped. She glanced behind her. The other Neo Vanguard's body encompassed her view, and its arms were raised.

Before she could run, the Neo Vanguard behind her used its hand to smack her back. Monica grunted as a cracking noise echoed throughout the corridor. She flew toward the other Neo Vanguard.

She half-opened her eyes. Her eyes snapped wide open, and sweat enveloped her body. _I-I'm going to…_

The Neo Vanguard outstretched its spear so that it pointed toward her. Monica's mouth opened, and her eyes widened further. She narrowed her eyes and frowned. She visualized her body swerving to dodge the spear, but changing the direction in which she flew was impossible.

_I'll hit the spear, but that doesn't mean it has to stab me._

When she neared the spear, she slammed her hands on its top. She stood on her hands. The Dusack lay underneath her hand. Its blade hung over the spear's edge. She swung sideways. As she did so, the blade snapped against the spear, and it flew to the wall opposite her. She fell on her side. She used her legs to push herself to the wall and then stood.

_All right._

The Neo Vanguards ran toward her. She searched the corridor with her eyes, keeping the Neo Vanguards in her peripheral vision. Her Dusack's blade was buried across from her, near the wall. She leaped toward it, and one Neo Vanguard's spears pierced the air. She tumbled, grabbed the blade, and stood. She pivoted to face the Neo Vanguards.

She reached into her pouch, her eyes fixed on the Neo Vanguards. The Balloon monsters' eyes drifted to her hand, which rummaged inside the pouch. She withdrew Repair Powder and then opened it. She grabbed a handful of yellow powder. She placed the blade and hilt together, and she sprinkled powder onto it. A yellow light enveloped the Dusack. A second later, the light faded.

Monica dropped the Repair Powder's bag. A glare flashed on the blade as she raised the repaired Dusack and faced the Neo Vanguard before her. The Balloon monster looked at the other Balloon monster, which sat in the Neo Vanguard behind her.

It flailed. "That was the perfect time to kill her, you imbecile. She was distracted."

The other flailed. "I hadn't the slightest inkling what she was withdrawing from her pocketbook, and neither did you. She could've withdrawn a bomb or another dangerous item."

Its flail increased in speed. "I was observing her hand. You should've killed her."

The other's flail increased in speed. "I was observing her hand too, you unobservant fool."

Monica listened to the monsters gibber over each other for some seconds. She frowned.

_Looks like they're more concerned about each other than me. _She tiptoed to the wall.

"She's getting away, idiots," a Neo Vanguard said as Monica galloped sideways, her arms pressed against the wall.

The Neo Vanguards stomped on the ground. The quake caused Monica to fall. The Neo Vanguards ran toward her. She stood and then sprinted toward a gap between the Neo Vanguard before her and the wall.

_I have to be as fast as possible. _

She glanced at the Neo Vanguard behind her. The distance between her and it increased.

_It looks like I'm faster than these monsters. _

The Neo Vanguard before her shoved its spears into the ground, flipped its body, and dropped its feet. The ground quaked. Monica fell beside the Neo Vanguard.

The Neo Vanguard jabbed its spear. Monica raised her Dusack. The spear snapped the Dusack in half, and its blade landed several feet in front of them. The Neo Vanguard continued its thrust. The spear pierced Monica's shoulder.

Monica forced her eyes to remain open, and she gritted her teeth. Her eyes darted around the corridor as the Neo Vanguard pushed its spear farther inside her shoulder. Her eyes settled on the wall beside her. She placed the palm of her hand on the wall and then propelled herself backward, toward the other Neo Vanguard. She landed on her feet. Blood poured down her arm, and she gripped it, creating creases in her skin.

Monica curled her lips inward. The world around her dimmed. Her legs began to shake, and she grinded her teeth. _I have to stay standing. I'll get to Max soon if I ignore the pain and run._

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glint of silver. Her head snapped toward the Neo Vanguard behind her. It slammed the side of its spear against her side. Monica crashed into the wall. Sand poured on her as the Neo Vanguards stepped before her.

Monica blinked multiple times. With each blink, the world appeared to dim further. She slumped against the wall.

"I'll do it." The Neo Vanguard held its spear to her heart. It pulled its spear backward and then thrust it toward her.

_Just run. _Monica tumbled through the gap between their feet and the wall, stood, and sprinted toward the Dusack's blade.

"You _imbecile_. You weren't quick enough."

"Then you should've done it!"

"Shut up! She's getting away."

Monica grabbed the Dusack's blade, placed the halves together, and sprinkled Repair Powder on it. She withdrew bandages from her pouch. She wrapped the bandages around her shoulder.

_That'll have to do for now._

She sprinted. Soon, the gate appeared, and her face brightened.

_Thank goodness._

She touched the Luna Stone. The gate opened, and light seeped into the tunnel. She stopped before the boys, who stood.

"What's up?" Max looked at the blood on her arm. His eyes narrowed. "What happened?"

"There are machine monsters chasing me, and one of them stabbed my shoulder. Max, call your Ridepod."

"Right." Max withdrew his Help Receiver, pushed the button, and placed it upon his ear. "Steve, we're in Ocean's Roar Cave. Machine monsters are coming after us. There are dark tunnels between each floor. If you go through a bunch of those tunnels, you should see us eventually."

"I'll get there as quick as I can."

"Thanks, Steve." He pushed the button and deposited it inside his pouch. "Since we're so deep inside the cave, it might take a while for him to show up." He watched blood roll down her arm.

"Don't worry about that. Worry about the machines. Since my weapons are useless against them, you guys'll have to hold them off." She scrunched her face. _Damn. _She staggered behind the boys.

Yamcha raised a brow. "You all right?"

"How deeply did he stab you?" Kuririn said.

"Don't worry about me. Focus on those machines."

"Do any of you have some medicine?"

Max began to rummage inside his pouch.

Monica's eyes softened. For a moment, the pain disappeared.

"I got some from Dr. Dell this morning." He withdrew a bottle containing white gel.

"Great thinking, Max." She unwrapped the bandages.

Kuririn's eyes widened. "W-whoa."

Gokuu frowned. Yamcha twitched. Max nearly dropped the bottle as he ran to her.

A crimson hole covered her shoulder. It almost pierced the other side of it.

Max scooped out a handful of gel and then rubbed it on the wound. Monica smiled and closed her eyes as a white light enveloped her shoulder. When the handful of medicine had been applied, Max closed the bottle. The light disappeared, and her wound was gone.

Monica exhaled. "Thanks, Max. That's much better."

"No problem."

They heard stomping that became louder with the passing seconds. Max deposited the bottle and then stepped before Monica. Kuririn and Gokuu stepped on both sides of him, and Yamcha stepped beside Kuririn.

"Sorry you all have to protect me."

Yamcha smiled wryly. "Don't worry about it. It shouldn't be too hard to hold those machines off."

The Neo Vanguards ran through the gate. They stopped an inch before it.

"Not too hard to hold us off, you say? You'll see in a second."

"I'll start." Gokuu jumped toward one, his leg outstretched. He crashed into the Seal. His body appeared to crumple against it. He slid onto the ground, facedown. He twitched.

A Neo Vanguard stabbed its spear toward him. His ears perked. He rolled sideways, and the spear became buried in the ground.

"I can't fight properly with this Seal in the way," Gokuu said as the Neo Vanguard attempted to pull out its spear.

Kuririn looked at the darkness behind them. "Not to mention the fact that if we move back, we won't be able to see. Fighting in the dark does not sound like a good idea."

"Do the best you can until the Ridepod gets here," Monica said.

The Neo Vanguard pulled out its spear, and it stumbled backward. It ground its feet and then thrust the spear toward Kuririn. He caught the spear by the sides. He tried to lift the Neo Vanguard, but could not. Gokuu's face brightened.

The Neo Vanguard threw its other spear toward him. Kuririn released the spear and then jumped. The Neo Vanguard stumbled forward. Its spear became buried. Kuririn landed beside Gokuu.

"I got an idea," Gokuu said. "Let's try throwin' him. If we work together like we did with Shingala, we'll be able to do it."

"Okay. Let's go." Yamcha grabbed the buried spear. Kuririn wrapped his arms around Yamcha's waist. Gokuu did the same with Kuririn's waist. As they did so, Max saw the other Neo Vanguard pull back its spear. He sprinted to it. It thrust its spear toward Gokuu, Kuririn and Yamcha. He swung his Cubic Hammer downward. It slammed onto the spear. Max gritted his teeth as his hammer and body vibrated. The spear was forced down some inches, and its thrust ceased.

_I wonder what this thing's made of. I'd love to make the Ridepod out of it. _He stared at the spear and then its torso._ Either silver, gold, diamond, __praseodymium_—

The Neo Vanguard thrust its other spear. His eyes widened momentarily, and he smashed the spear from above. The spear stopped. His hammer and body vibrated. Max planted his feet into the ground. Each time the Neo Vanguard attempted to thrust its spear, Max smashed it and stopped its thrust. He continued to plant his feet to prevent the vibrations from causing him to fall.

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha pulled out the Neo Vanguard's spear. The Neo Vanguard was lifted into the air. The Balloon monster flailed.

"Put me down, you brutes."

The Neo Vanguard thrust its legs downward, but could not force the boys to place it onto the ground.

"Get them to put us down."

"Are you blind? I'm trying, idiot."

"That insult was not—"

The boys threw the Neo Vanguard. The Balloon monster was tossed out. It fell headfirst into the wall. The Neo Vanguard crashed into it and the wall. Monica covered her ears as the sound of crumpling metal echoed throughout the tunnel. The Neo Vanguard fell on its backside. No trace of the Balloon monster remained.

Monica ignored the ringing in her ears. "Be careful, guys. Just because you killed the monster controlling it doesn't mean that the machine will stop attacking you. Max and I saw some machine monsters in Rainbow Butterfly Wood that could control themselves."

The Neo Vanguard jumped onto its feet. The ground quaked, and Monica placed her hand on the wall to steady herself. Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha took battle stances.

It glanced at the other Neo Vanguard, which stood behind it and repeatedly stabbed its spears toward Max. Max stopped the thrusts with his hammer. "Let's go further inside this tunnel. We'll be fighting in the dark, but humans' sight isn't as good as ours."

"All right. Let's do it."

The Neo Vanguard withdrew its spears from Max. It and the other charged forward.

"Get out of the way, guys." Gokuu and the remainder of the group leaped sideways. Max's body scraped against the Neo Vanguard's body, and he winced. The gate closed. The Luna Stone's light illuminated five feet ahead. Both Neo Vanguards passed the group.

"Give them a reason to follow us," a Neo Vanguard said.

"Right." The Neo Vanguard whirled around and faced the group. Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha stood at the tunnel's right side. Max crouched on his hands and knees, and Monica bent beside him at the tunnel left side. Max bit his lip and shut his eyes as a surge of pain passed through his side.

The Neo Vanguard sped to Monica. She pivoted, and Max forced his eyes open.

It jabbed its spear toward Monica. Max, on his hands and knees, swung his hammer toward the spear. He wobbled, and he nearly fell. The hammer did not reach the spear. The spear became hooked on Monica's shirt.

"We gotta help him." Gokuu ran toward them. The other Neo Vanguard slid before him, and he slammed his hands against it to prevent himself from colliding with its body. "Get outta my way. I gotta help them."

"Do you really think I'll move if you just ask?"

Kuririn ran behind Gokuu, and Yamcha behind Kuririn.

"Gokuu, let's throw him out of the way," Kuririn said.

The Balloon monster inside glanced behind itself. It smirked. "The other has the human girl." It ran into the darkness.

The other Neo Vanguard had lifted Monica into the air with its right spear, and the left spear had pierced Max's back. Max, on his hands and knees, swung his hammer repeatedly. His hammer could not reach the Neo Vanguard's spear. Max crawled forward and then swung the hammer into its body, and its body became dented. It slid its spear out Max's back and then ran into the darkness, Monica hooked on its spear.

Max scrambled onto his feet. He ran toward the Neo Vanguard. Blood poured down his back. He stumbled as pain seared through it. He withdrew the medicine and applied it to his wound. The pain disappeared. He frowned further and quickened his pace.

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha ran into the darkness. When they were beside Max, Kuririn said, "We'll get Monica. You go after the other one."

Max nodded. "Gotcha."

The boys disappeared and then reappeared before the Neo Vanguard carrying Monica. The Neo Vanguard ran faster. They outstretched their arms. The Neo Vanguard slammed into their hands, and the boys slid backward, leaving shallow trenches in the ground.

"It looks like we're deep enough. I bet you have a hard time seeing me." The Neo Vanguard straightened and plopped Monica onto its seat. The boys stumbled forward.

"Where'd you put Monica?" Gokuu said.

"Find out for yourself."

Gokuu translated.

Monica waved. "I'm right here, guys."

The Neo Vanguard pushed her with the side of its spear. Her head hit the metal floor, and she briefly saw stars.

Yamcha smirked. "We can see your metal body, smart one."

"But you can't see your human friend. That's all that matters, isn't it?"

Gokuu translated. Yamcha's smirk became a frown.

* * *

The Neo Vanguard stopped and whirled around to face Max. It flipped upside-down and then slammed its body into the ground. The ground quaked, and Max fell onto his back.

The spear shot toward him. Max held his hammer before his body, and the spear clashed against the hammer. They pushed against each other. Sparks fell onto Max's torso. With the passing seconds, the Neo Vanguard's spear approached his heart.

Max withdrew his hammer from the spear and began to roll over. The spear jabbed his shoulder, and he stopped. The Neo Vanguard pushed its spear farther. Max bashed the spear repeatedly with his hammer. He gritted his teeth, and he kept his eyes open. The Neo Vanguard stepped forward and drove the spear farther. A mechanical sound resembling laughter echoed throughout the tunnel.

_That's right. _Max aimed his Question Shooter at the Neo Vanguard's torso. He shot. Two beams hit the torso. The Neo Vanguard's laugh ceased. It drew back its spear, stumbled backward, and looked around.

"Wh-who's talking to me?"

Max ran to it. He swung his hammer into the dent he had created. It became dented further. He jumped sideways. The Neo Vanguard's spear pierced air.

He galloped behind the Neo Vanguard, his eyes fixed upon it. He crouched and then slammed his hammer into one of the Neo Vanguard's legs, then the other. The Neo Vanguard leaned back. It flailed as it struggled to remain balanced. Max leaped backward, and the Neo Vanguard fell onto its back.

"Imbecile. You should've stuck your spears into the wall to stay upright."

"And be totally defenseless?"

Max ran to the Neo Vanguard's seat. He crushed the Balloon monster's head. The Balloon monster's sentence was cut off when it deflated and then disintegrated.

_I'm not out of the woods yet. This machine might be able to control itself._

Max shot his Question Shooter at random parts of its body as he approached. Once he stood before the dent, he swung his hammer into it. The dent ruptured into a hole. Max backed away into the darkness as sparks enveloped the Neo Vanguard's body. It exploded.

Max shielded his face with his arms, a small space between his arms for him to watch the Neo Vanguard's explosion and ensure that no part of it remained. Heat seared his body, and debris bounced off him. Once the heat had faded, he lowered his arms. He stared at the spot in which the Neo Vanguard had exploded. Nothing remained.

Max exhaled. He ran into the darkness, reaching into his pouch for Dr. Dell's medicine.

* * *

Gokuu ran to the Neo Vanguard and punched its body. He heard a cracking noise. He began to shake his hand.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow." Gokuu backflipped beside Kuririn and Yamcha. A small dent remained on the Neo Vanguard's body.

"We'll have to let Max's Ridepod take care of him," Yamcha said. "Besides, if we defeat it, it'll probably explode, and Monica'll get caught in that explosion. Let's rescue her."

Yamcha jumped toward Monica. The Neo Vanguard swung its spear, and the side of the spear slammed into Yamcha's side. Yamcha was thrust backward. He landed on his hands and then flipped onto his feet. He gripped the area that the Neo Vanguard's spear had hit.

"Let's try attacking together," Yamcha said.

"All right," Gokuu said as Kuririn said, "Okay."

Gokuu jumped toward the Neo Vanguard's right, Kuririn toward its front, and Yamcha toward its left. The Neo Vanguard swung both spears toward Gokuu and Yamcha. Gokuu gripped the spear's sides and swung his body so that his legs became lifted in the air. He flipped, and he landed on the spear. Yamcha slammed one hand onto the spear and then flipped onto his feet, onto the spear. Kuririn landed before Monica, who sat on the seat, holding her forehead.

Kuririn turned so that his back faced Monica. "I know I'm short, but I'll have to carry you on my back. Don't worry. I won't drop you."

Monica stared at Kuririn. "There's no way I can climb on your back."

Yamcha ran on the spear, toward them. "I got her."

"And if he doesn't, I do." Gokuu ran on the left spear.

The Neo Vanguard flicked the spears upward. Gokuu and Yamcha were tossed into the air.

"Here's a chance. Let's jump out." Monica ran to the Neo Vanguard's edge and then jumped. The Neo Vanguard hooked its spear on her clothes. Gokuu and Yamcha landed behind it.

"I don't think I can let you go," the Neo Vanguard said. "Any of you. You're going to tell me where you all put the pirates' treasure." It held the tip of its other spear to Monica's heart. "Or else she's done."

Gokuu translated. Then, he said, "Let's tell him, guys. It's not worth gettin' Monica killed over."

"But what about the other people in Veniccio?" Yamcha said. "If this monster goes over to Veniccio to grab the treasure, he might kill them on his way."

Kuririn looked the Neo Vanguard up and down. "Better yet, he could easily kill us after we tell him about the treasure."

Gokuu gritted his teeth. "You're bein' real dirty right now."

"Does it look like I care?"

Monica winced as the Neo Vanguard pressed its spear against her heart, pushing her backward.

"Hurry up and tell me, or she dies and I go look for it myself. In your territory."

Gokuu translated.

_That treasure isn't worth it._ Yamcha straightened. "Okay. We'll tell you. Put her down first, though."

The Neo Vanguard lifted Monica higher. "Uh, no. Not until I have the treasure in my hands."

Gokuu translated.

Yamcha scowled. "Tough bastard, aren't you?"

A green beam hit the Neo Vanguard. The Neo Vanguard faced the direction from whence it had come.

"Wh-what? Who's talking to me?"

_Now! _Kuririn jumped toward Monica. He grabbed her shirt and pulled it off the spear. He gripped the shirt tighter as he pulled Monica toward the ground. They fell, Kuririn on one knee, Monica on her side.

Monica sat upright and smiled. "Thanks. Sorry for being so much trouble."

Kuririn smiled and blushed. "You're not any trouble. Really."

"You don't have to say that just to make me feel better."

"Max, is that you?" Gokuu said.

Max ran toward them. He looked around. "Yeah. I can see the machine, but I can hardly see you guys. Where are you?" He continued to shoot his Question Shooter. The Neo Vanguard spun.

"What is that? Stop talking."

"We can hardly see you, too," Yamcha said.

"Let's be careful. Monica, where are you?"

"Kuririn rescued me. I'm all right now. What about the other machine?"

"I defeated it."

Kuririn whistled. "Impressive."

Gokuu grinned. "Wow, again? I don't think you need the Ridepod to kill machines, Max."

"I'm not too sure about that," Max said.

Yamcha raised his eyebrows and frowned. _If Muten Roushi trained him…_

"These questions." The Neo Vanguard pierced the wall with its spears. Debris fell. "Stop with the questions." It pulled out its spears and pivoted so that it faced Monica and Kuririn. It swung them.

"Watch out." Kuririn shoved Monica, and she slammed against the wall. One spear swung into air. The other swung into Kuririn's stomach. He flew into the darkness.

"Kuririn," Gokuu said. "We'd better see if he's okay."

"Don't you run away from me." The Neo Vanguard swung its spears toward Gokuu. Gokuu disappeared, and the Neo Vanguard stumbled forward. He reappeared before Monica and hoisted her by the thighs.

"Max, I'll carry you." Yamcha ran to Max, grabbed his torso, and lifted him.

Gokuu and Yamcha ran in the direction Kuririn was thrown and yelled his name. He responded. They stopped yelling and slowed their sprint.

They approached the gate, against which Kuririn sat. He withdrew his hand from his stomach and then flipped onto his feet. Gokuu and Yamcha placed Monica and Max onto his feet. The boys formed a line before Monica.

"Kuririn, are you okay?" Monica said.

"Yep."

"Um, thanks for saving me. Again."

Kuririn visualized her smile. He blushed. "It's nothing." He heard the Neo Vanguard approach and took a battle stance. Gokuu and Yamcha did the same.

"I'll take care of Monica." Max ran before her. "You guys'll work better together without me."

"Okay." Kuririn ran between Gokuu and Yamcha.

The Neo Vanguard came into their views. "I know one of you was talking to me back there, trying to distract me. Too afraid to fight me head-on?"

"Far from it." Gokuu said. He, Kuririn, and Yamcha charged toward it. "Let's try liftin' him again."

"No, you don't." The Neo Vanguard raised its spears.

"Now you're defenseless," Yamcha said. "I can see you're great at fighting." He slammed his hands against the Neo Vanguard's body. Its sprint became a run. Gokuu gripped Yamcha's shoulders and pushed. Kuririn gripped Gokuu's shoulders and pushed. The Neo Vanguard's run slowed to a crawl.

The Neo Vanguard swung its spears toward them. Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha leaped backward.

The Neo Vanguard spun toward them. Its body became a blur.

"Grab him," Gokuu said. He, Kuririn, and Yamcha outstretched their hands. The Neo Vanguard spun into them. They crashed into the wall, Yamcha against the wall opposite Gokuu and Kuririn.

Kuririn, pressed into the wall, fell facedown beside Gokuu. "Not your best idea."

The Neo Vanguard continued to spin toward Max.

"Monica, run away." Max raised his hammer.

Monica bit her lip and then ran toward Gokuu and Kuririn. The Neo Vanguard spun into Max. Max flew upward, against the wall above the gate. He slid onto a V-shaped structure that held the gate together. The Neo Vanguard stopped its spin.

"Even that couldn't kill you humans?"

"Max, are you all right?" Monica said.

Max kept his eyes open and gritted his teeth. "Yeah, I'm good."

The gate turned upside-down. Max grabbed both sides of the gate with one hand each as he turned with it. The door opened. The Ridepod ran through, its samurai swords raised. The gate closed.

It pointed to the Neo Vanguard with its sword. "This guy, right?"

"Right," Monica said.

"Why are you on their side?" the Neo Vanguard said. "Don't you know what humans did to us?"

"Nope, nor do I care."

The Ridepod dashed to the Neo Vanguard. It slashed the Neo Vanguard in all directions, its attacks a blur. It whirled around and then continued to slash the Neo Vanguard.

Monica narrowed her eyes. "That twirling was unnecessary."

The Ridepod stopped. Gashes that revealed wires covered the Neo Vanguard. Sparks enveloped it.

"Puppet."

"What?"

The Neo Vanguard fell onto its back. The amount of sparks increased so that it appeared to be a ball of electricity.

The Ridepod ran to the gate. "Get back, guys. This guy's gettin' ready to explode."

The group ran to the gate's sides and then pressed themselves against the wall.

The Neo Vanguard exploded. The group winced as debris bounced off their faces and torsos.

The Ridepod stared at the spot in which the Neo Vanguard exploded. "'Puppet?'" It shrugged. "Talkin' nonsense before it died, that's all." It swung its swords in a circle and then sheathed them. It faced the group and pointed its thumb upward. "How'd I do, Miss Swordswoman?"

Monica smiled. "Pretty good, Steve. You certainly have potential."

"I heard what you said about my twirling." It spun in a circle. "It's for style. I've seen you do a fair share of twirling yourself."

"That's just to catch the enemy off-guard and so my attacks don't become too predictable. I'm sure Max has something to say about you using energy unnecessarily."

The Ridepod looked around. "Hey, where _is_ Max? I haven't seen him at all."

Max fell, headfirst, into the Ridepod's seat. "H-here I am."

"Whoa," the Ridepod said. "Where'd you come from?"

Max pointed up. The Ridepod looked. It stared for some seconds.

"Eh, well, it doesn't matter. You're safe now."

"Sorry you all had to protect me," Monica said as Max staggered to his feet. "They blocked my magic, and my sword would've gotten broken again if I'd tried to fight them."

"No sweat," Yamcha said.

Max jumped out the Ridepod. When he landed, he stumbled. "Monica, you'd better use Steve for this floor just in case you come across some more machines."

"Good idea." Monica climbed into the Ridepod.

"I sure hope Griffon doesn't make a Seal for the Ridepod," Gokuu said.

Monica's body sunk. "Please don't jinx us, Gokuu."

"What does 'jinx' mean?"

Monica's body sunk further. "It's nothing. I'm ready, Steve."

"I wanna know what a jinx is too."

Monica's smile twitched. "It really doesn't matter. C'mon, let's hurry."

"All righty then. Let's head out." The Ridepod ran into the darkness.

* * *

Some minutes later, the Ridepod stomped back. It stopped before the group, who sat against the wall.

"All monsters cleared," it said.

Monica jumped out, a Geostone in her hand. She landed, on one knee, beside Max.

"Gave me a good workout." The Ridepod nodded. "Nice, proper fights. Mmm-hm."

Yamcha outstretched his arms and walked forward. After he passed the Seal's previous location, he said, "There's no Seal anymore."

"All right." Max beamed at the Ridepod. "Thanks for your help, Steve."

"Anytime, Max."

"Let's get back to Veniccio," Monica said, "and give this Geostone to Buruma."

"It'd be easier if just one of us went and the rest of us stayed behind and fought," Yamcha said.

"True, but we shouldn't overexert ourselves. You guys really need your rest since you fought against machines." Her eyes rested on Kuririn for a moment before she closed them and exhaled. "That was a long battle. The monsters really outdid themselves this time. They must really be trying to kill us now."

"They'd better have a good reason for trying," Kuririn said.

Monica nodded. "Definitely. Let's hurry back to Veniccio. We need to get the Shigura medicine as soon as possible."

Gokuu grinned at Kuririn and Yamcha. "Race ya back to Veniccio."

"You're on." Kuririn put one foot forward, as did Gokuu and Yamcha.

"On your mark," Yamcha said, "get set, go."

The three began to sprint. To Max and Monica, they seemed to disappear. The duo heard a yelp.

"Gokuu, watch where you're going! You keep crushing my foot!"

Monica smiled. "Boy, they sure have a lot of stamina."

Max nodded. "I'll say. It'd be easier to get back if we rode on the Ridepod. Steve, you have enough juice to get us back to Veniccio?"

"Yep. Climb in."

Max sat on the seat in the Ridepod. Monica climbed the Ridepod's back and stood behind Max. Her hands gripped the edges of the seat.

"Hold on tight." The Ridepod began to run through the tunnel.


	45. Shells

**Chapter Forty-five: Shells**

Max flinched as the mid-morning sun glared in his eye. He realized that they had arrived in Veniccio. The broken houses had been replaced with new ones. On the pier nearest Ocean's Roar Cave, Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha lay on their backs, panting. Sweat glistened on their bodies.

"Thanks, Steve," Max said. He and Monica jumped off the Ridepod. "We're all right now."

"No prob. Back to protecting Cedric n' them." The Ridepod ran up the pier and disappeared into the cave that led to Veniccio Station.

Max and Monica walked to Muten Roushi, Buruma, Oolong, and Puar, who sat on the pier beside the one on which Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha lay.

"We brought another Geostone." Monica gave the Geostone to Buruma.

"Okay. I'll get to it." Buruma reached into her pocket and pushed a button. The Carpenterion flew over the horizon.

As Buruma boarded the Carpenterion, Max and Monica walked to Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha, whose eyes were shut, mouths were open, and faces were red.

"So, who won the race?" Monica said.

Gokuu half-opened his eyes, as did Kuririn and Yamcha. "I did. It came real close, though."

"I'll say," Kuririn said. "I was just a few inches behind Gokuu, and Yamcha-san was just a few inches behind me."

"We got lost, too," Yamcha said. "We didn't have a map or anything."

Kuririn eyed Gokuu. "I thought you knew where you were going, Gokuu. That's why I stayed behind you."

Yamcha eyed Kuririn. "And I thought you knew where you were going. That's why I stayed behind you."

"I was trying to find a way out," Gokuu said. "I didn't remember the way we came."

Kuririn sighed. "Maybe there wasn't a point in having a race."

Muten Roushi walked to Max and Monica. "Would you two like to begin your training?"

"Training?" Max said.

"When I first met him in Ocean's Roar Cave," Monica said, "Kamesennin offered to train us for the Tenkaichi Budoukai."

"I see." Max smiled. "Sure. Anything that makes it easier to defeat Griffon."

"All right, then. Wait just a moment." Muten Roushi ran inside Pau's cave. Some seconds later, he returned, carrying two turtle shells that were nearly the size of the one on his back.

"Those look like what you have on your back," Max said.

"Exactly." Muten Roushi tapped his shell. "I always keep this turtle shell on my back so I can constantly train. I'd like you two to do the same. Normally, I'd have you two begin with menial tasks, like plowing fields and delivering milk, but since there's none of that around here, I'm going to have you two fight monsters with these on. Besides, you all have to get to Shigura Village soon, or else Shingala's wound might get worse."

"Is it really okay if we slow up on getting that medicine just to train?"

"I'm sure everything will turn out fine. You don't know what you'll find in Shigura Village. It could be stronger than anything you've ever faced, and you should be prepared. Here, take one."

Max reached toward the shell.

"You might want to hold out both hands."

Max looked at Monica. Monica shrugged.

Max held out both hands, and Muten Roushi laid a shell in them. Max's hands fell a little ways, but he managed to lift it, grunting. He equipped it as though it were a backpack. His eyes widened as began to stumble forward and backward. "Whoa. This is really heavy."

"You should be able to keep your balance in a few minutes. It takes some getting used to." Muten Roushi turned to Monica. "Here you go, miss."

Monica held out her hands, and Muten Roushi laid the remaining shell in them. She fell on top of the shell and yelped; the shell had crushed her hands. She rolled onto the ground and pulled. Her hands slid from underneath the shell, and she fell on her rear.

She grabbed its sides and lifted it a few inches off the pier. Then, she dropped it.

"Geez, what are these things made of?" Monica placed her red, swelling hands on its sides and attempted to lift it.

"It seems like I'll have to start you off with something a bit more lightweight." Muten Roushi entered Pau's cave, and Monica stood, panting and caressing her hands. He returned with a turtle shell that was three-quarters the size of Max's shell.

"This should be just right for you. Heavy enough to challenge you, but light enough for you to carry." Muten Roushi gave Monica the turtle shell. Her hands fell a little ways, but she managed to place it on her back. She began to stumble back and forth alongside Max, who began to sweat, his face becoming scarlet.

"H-how long does it take for us to be able to keep our balance?" Monica said.

"Don't worry about that. Go and fight monsters with those on your back."

"It seems really impossible to fight with these on our backs."

"Don't be so negative, miss. The result will be great, I promise. Now, when you think you've gotten completely used to your shells, see me, and I'll give you heavier ones." He turned to Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha, who all stood. "You three make sure they're all right in there."

"Yes, Muten Roushi-sama."

"Okay, Kamesennin."

"Got it."

Monica's face became crimson, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. "Aren't they training for the Tenkaichi Budoukai, too?" Her voice was airy. "How come they don't need to wear these?"

Muten Roushi tapped his chin and frowned. "Good point. I'll get them the size that I wear." He entered Pau's cave.

Kuririn's shoulders slumped. "Just like old times, eh, Gokuu?"

Gokuu grinned. "Yeah. Brings back good memories. And we get the size that Kamesennin himself wears."

Yamcha chuckled as he watched Max and Monica stagger back and forth. "This should be nice."

Muten Roushi returned, carrying three turtle shells as large as the one on his own back. He gave them to Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha. Yamcha's eyes widened, and he fumbled. He slipped the shell's straps over his shoulders, as did Gokuu and Kuririn, who had also nearly dropped the shells.

"Keep those on at all times, and run at all times. No walking, no matter how tired you get." Muten Roushi looked at the red house. A smile crept on his lips. "I'm going to stay out here and protect everyone from any stray monsters. Good luck."

Kuririn watched, with narrow eyes, Muten Roushi stroll toward the red house.

Muten Roushi whirled around and waved his cane. "What're you waiting for? I gave you instructions."

Kuririn started. "Y-yes, Muten Roushi-sama." He ran to Gokuu and Yamcha, who neared Ocean's Roar Cave. Max and Monica lagged, their teeth gritted, eyes nearly shut.

* * *

The group arrived at the floor on which they had left off. They wheezed, their faces colored crimson, their clothes and hair drenched in sweat.

Monica placed her hands on her knees so that she stared at the ground. She attempted to salivate, but could not. She withdrew Tasty Water from her pouch and drank its entirety within five seconds. She exhaled.

_This is so much different than Father's training_. _It's like Kamesennin focuses more on strength than anything else. _She smirked. _Officer Blinkhorn always told me that I needed more meat on my bones. _

She looked at the boys, who downed bottles of water. Once Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha had finished drinking one, they threw the bottle sideways and then drank another. Max placed each empty bottle in his pouch, withdrew another bottle, and drank its entirety within three seconds.

Monica looked the boys up and down. Their faces remained crimson. The clothes clung to their bodies, and their hair was damp. She raised her eyebrows. "Hey, are we even gonna be able to fight at all?"

Gokuu wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Of course. Why wouldn't we?"

"I forgot that you guys are used to this kind of thing."

"Not me," Yamcha wheezed. "It's my first time training with Muten Roushi."

"Let's try fighting, Monica," Max said. "If we have any trouble, Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha can help us. If they have trouble, Steve'll come to help."

Monica narrowed her eyes. "It took Steve quite a long time to come before. You think we'll be able to wait that long?"

"We did before. Against machines, too."

She looked at her shell. "But now we have these on our backs, and we're not allowed to take them off."

"If we were in a life or death situation," Yamcha said, "I'm sure Muten Roushi would forgive us for taking them off to run away."

They turned a corner. Some yards away, two Sootys stood across from each other and gibbered.

"Should we get the jump on them?" Max said.

One Sooty saw the group out of the corner of its eye and charged toward them. The other Sooty eyed the group and followed.

"Guess they're gonna start." Monica raised her Dusack. "This'll be a good exercise to get used to fighting with these shells on. Ready, Max?"

"Yup."

Max ran as fast as he could. He winced, as he felt as though the turtle shell would pull him onto his back. The Sooty shaped its arm into a sword and swiped horizontally. Max, in an attempt to backflip, leaned on his heels and fell on his back.

"Darn." Max slammed his feet onto the ground and began to push upward. The Sooty shaped its arm into a drill. Max moved his right leg sideways, and the drill grinded itself into the ground.

Max shot the Sooty's head with his Question Shooter. The Sooty stumbled back, its drill popping out the ground. It gripped its temples and rapidly shook its head.

_Almost every time I've used this gun on a monster, it's stopped attacking. What kind of power does it have? _Max continued to shoot as he ground his feet. His muscles burned, and he grunted. He placed his right hand on the ground and pushed. His arm began to throb. He lifted himself some inches.

His feet slid, creating small trenches in the ground. He lifted himself farther. He forced his eyes to remain open, and he began to grind his teeth. A vein protruded from his forehead.

He stood and stumbled forward. He exhaled.

_Gotta keep going._

He ran toward the Sooty, shooting it. When he neared it, he smashed the side of its head. The Sooty crashed into the wall. It slid onto its feet and stumbled in all directions, its eyes glazed.

It blinked; its eyes became clear, and it steadied itself. It shaped one hand into a sword and the other into a drill. It charged toward him, both weapons pointed outward.

Max shot his Question Shooter. The Sooty bent its body to dodge the beams. When he closed the gap, Max swung his Cubic Hammer toward the Sooty's sword. The Sooty raised its sword, and the hammer passed beneath it. It stabbed Max's neck.

Max froze, his weapons raised. He dropped his hammer. Water droplets plopped onto his shoes.

The Sooty began to push the sword farther into his neck. Max grabbed the sword and began to pull, his expression blank. The Sooty's sword and Max's hand shook as they struggled against each other. The Sooty thrust its drill into the hand that had grabbed the sword. Max released the sword, and the Sooty withdrew its drill. Max's breaths became shorter.

He aimed at the Sooty's head and shot. The Sooty winced with each beam that hit it, yet continued to drive its sword farther into Max's neck. Max's vision dimmed and, regardless of the number of times he blinked, the world refused to come into focus.

Gokuu pointed at Max. "We gotta help him. Let's go."

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha ran forward. Hands placed themselves onto their backs and shoved them facedown. They turned their heads. Three King Mimics snickered.

"I don't have time for you guys. I gotta save Max." Gokuu scrambled onto his feet.

The King Mimic leaped overhead. It slammed on Gokuu's back, and they crashed onto the ground. The King Mimic used both its hands to smear Gokuu's head. Dirt entered his mouth.

The other King Mimics jumped on Kuririn and Yamcha repeatedly, knocking the wind out of them.

"I, I can't breathe," Kuririn said. While the King Mimic was in midair, he attempted to push himself onto his feet. The King Mimic jumped on his back, forcing him onto the ground.

"Move it!" Gokuu kicked the King Mimic using both feet. The King Mimic hollered as it flew into the distance.

He unsheathed his Nyoi-bo. "Extend!"

The Nyoi-bo extended toward the Sooty. The Sooty looked at it, its eyes wide, and caught it with its drill, the Nyoi-bo inches from its neck. Before the vibration could reach his body, Gokuu released the Nyoi-bo, and it spun into the wall.

He sprinted to Max, whose skin and eyes paled. He grabbed the sword and then pulled it out, slamming the Sooty against the wall. Color returned to Max's eyes and skin. He exhaled and glared at the Sooty.

"Thanks, Gokuu. I'll take care of this guy."

"All right. Good luck." Gokuu picked up his Nyoi-bo, which had returned to its original size, and ran toward Kuririn and Yamcha. King Mimics continued to slam onto their bodies.

_I've had just about enough. _Kuririn elbowed the King Mimic's eye. It covered its eye with one hand and reared back, off Kuririn's body.

Kuririn flipped onto his feet. He focused his energy into his legs and then jumped above the King Mimic. He placed the palm of his hands onto the ceiling and propelled himself downward. His feet crashed through the King Mimic's lid, and he landed inside of it.

Kuririn scrunched his face, as the surface was soft and watery. He launched himself out of the King Mimic's insides. He looked down. Saliva covered his shins. The King Mimic snickered.

"Blegh. All right, there has to be something more to this saliva, but I'll figure it out after I defeat you." He swiveled around and kicked the King Mimic's side. The King Mimic crashed into the wall. Kuririn punched it rapidly until it disintegrated.

Kuririn frowned at his shins, which dripped with thick saliva. "I sure hope his saliva isn't special in some way."

His mouth dried up as though it had been exposed to the sun. "Geez, I'm thirsty." He tapped his chin. "Saliva that makes you thirsty. Hm, that's new."

* * *

The King Mimic fell toward Yamcha. Yamcha flipped himself onto his back and then pointed his feet upward. When it was within reaching distance, he kicked it with both feet, and it slammed into the ceiling. Debris poured onto Yamcha.

It fell toward him. Yamcha smirked as he kicked it again. It crashed onto the ceiling. Yamcha continued to kick it onto the ceiling until it disintegrated.

Yamcha grinned crookedly. _That was satisfying._

* * *

Max swung his hammer. The hammer crushed the Sooty's head so that it thinned to two inches, and its head slammed against the wall.

Max smashed the Sooty's sword. The Sooty crashed onto the ground, its sword beneath the hammer. It hollered.

It spun its drill and jabbed it in all directions. Max attempted to jump backward, but fell onto his back. He reached toward the Sooty, which continued to thrust its drill everywhere but near Max. Its hammer did not touch the Sooty.

_I'd better get it before it gets the message that I'm down here. _ He threw his hammer toward the Sooty's heart. The hammer crushed the Sooty's neck, and it wheezed. The hammer pinned the Sooty to the wall. The Sooty disintegrated, and the hammer fell.

Max looked at his feet. _Now to try and stand._

* * *

Monica bent her legs to jump. Her jump came out as a hop.

"Th-this shell."

The Sooty transformed one arm into a sword and swung. Its sword clashed against the Dusack. The Sooty withdrew its sword and then slashed repeatedly. Monica caught every slash using her Dusack. After some minutes, Monica began to pant.

_This shell's tiring me out quicker than usual._

The Sooty's mouth twisted into a grin. It slashed faster.

_It's not getting any more tired at all. I have to get away from it somehow and think of a way to kill it quickly. _She attempted to step backward, but she leaned on her heels and then fell on her back. Before the Sooty could bend down and continue to slash, she charged her Platinum Brassard a little ways and then launched. The fireball exploded on the Sooty's face. It slid backward, snuffing out the flames using its hands.

Monica dropped her sword, placed the palms of her hands upon the ground, and pushed. She gritted her teeth. Sweat rolled down her face.

The Sooty, having extinguished the fire, slid to Monica and then swiped its sword. Her shirt tore and revealed a red gash across her stomach.

Monica suppressed a yelp. Her feet scrambled on the ground in an attempt to keep her lifted the few inches she had managed. _Damn this shell._

She snatched her sword and then blocked the Sooty's slashes. She staggered. Her body neared the ground.

Monica parried. The Sooty's sword swung into the air, and the Sooty stumbled back. Monica ground her feet. Her legs began to throb.

Her eyes widened. _How could I forget about that?_

She began to breathe from her stomach, and she lowered herself to the ground. She focused her energy. A purple aura appeared around her body.

The Sooty watched Monica, its jaw slack. It raised its sword, debating whether or not to approach her.

She channeled her energy into her legs and feet. The purple aura around them enlarged. She grinded her feet into the ground, placed the palms of her hands onto the ground, and pushed.

She stood and wiped her brow.

_Who knew standing would be so hard?_

The Sooty began to gibber, its arms flailing.

"Yeah, thanks for giving me time to stand."

The Sooty released a noise resembling a squeal.

Monica chuckled. "Was that supposed to be your war cry?"

The Sooty shaped its remaining arm into a drill and jabbed it toward Monica.

_I can't block that, or my Dusack'll break._

Monica sidestepped, but the shell prevented her from going as far as she needed. The drill grazed her arm. A shallow, spiral-shaped wound was left.

The Sooty thrust its drill. Monica jumped backward. The drill grazed her leg, and she winced.

The Sooty slid toward her and thrust its sword and drill.

_If I slide back, that monster'll just keep coming toward me. If I block, it'll break my Dusack, keep drilling, and rip my body to shreds. _

She crossed her arms before her face. She watched the sword and drill near her with the passing seconds. _And it'll rip me to shreds anyway._

A blur crossed her vision, tackling the Sooty. Monica lowered her arms. Kuririn pinned the Sooty onto the ground, his hands pressing the Sooty's arms to the ground, one knee pressing its leg to the ground.

Kuririn grinned. "I see that shell's pretty much taken away your defense."

Monica closed her mouth. "Y-yeah, sure has. I usually dodge so my sword doesn't get broken." Her eyes flickered from the ground to Kuririn's face. "Thanks for saving me _again._"

The Sooty thrashed its torso against Kuririn's body. Kuririn did not move. His grin widened. "It's really no prob. Wanna work together again?"

_I'd much rather take that monster down by myself, but I can't block or dodge or anything. _"Sure, why not?"

"I'll let you do most of the fighting. If you get into any trouble, I'll be there. Now, I'll let you go." Kuririn leaped backward, and the Sooty snapped into an upright position. It drilled toward Kuririn.

Kuririn flipped over the Sooty. The Sooty drilled into the wall, and it vibrated with the drill. Debris poured on it.

Kuririn gestured toward the Sooty. "Your turn, miss."

"I'm around your age, you know. You don't have to call me miss." Monica ran toward the Sooty. The Sooty withdrew its drill and then staggered into Monica's Dusack. Monica slashed upward. The Sooty's halves drifted to the ground, and it disintegrated.

"Phew." Monica smiled at Kuririn, who blushed. "Thanks for your help. I really don't think I could've done it without you."

"W-well, you know." He laughed heartily. He stopped. Monica stared at him, frowning, her eyebrows raised. His face became scarlet. "U-um, yeah, you're welcome, mi—"

Monica glared and raised her Dusack. Kuririn gulped.

"Monica. You're welcome, Monica."

Monica lowered her Dusack and smiled. "You didn't really think I'd slice you in half for forgetting what I'd told you two seconds ago, did you?"

Kuririn shook his head. "No, Monica. Of course not."

She looked at Max, who had killed the other Sooty. Her eyes drifted to his neck, and they widened. She, Kuririn, Gokuu, and Yamcha ran to him.

"Max, are you all right?" she said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That monster got my neck, that's all."

Blood rolled down Max's neck and stained his overalls. He coughed, and blood splattered on the ground, reddening the water. His breaths were short.

He rummaged inside his pouch. "I don't have any of Dr. Dell's medicine. Of all the things to forget…"

"We have to get you to Dr. Dell right away," Monica said. "Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamcha, one of you carry him out."

"I'll do it." Gokuu hoisted Max onto his back.

Max frowned at the gash across Monica's stomach. "Shouldn't you get to Dr. Dell yourself?"

"You have to stop talking, Max. You need to keep breathing." Monica placed a hand on the back of her head. "But, um, yeah, I guess I'm losing a bit too much blood."

"You guess?" Yamcha said. "It's pouring on the floor."

Monica looked down. Blood pooled to the surface of her wound and then rolled down. Her blood mixed with Max's blood. The water around the group's feet became crimson.

The ground quaked, and the group looked around.

"There aren't supposed to be earthquakes here," Monica said.

A Sea Serpent emerged from beneath Monica. Its head ran into her crotch, and she was propelled upward. Her head slammed against the ceiling. She fell. The Sea Serpent headbutted her to the right. Monica crashed into the wall. She slid onto her stomach and twitched.

Max's eyes widened. "Monica, your head. It could be another concussion. You'd better let Kuririn and Yamcha take care of that monster."

"Yeah, we'll take care of this guy." Kuririn took a battle stance, as did Yamcha. "Gokuu, get Max and Monica to Dr. Dell. And Max, keep your mouth _closed_ and focus on breathing."

Gokuu slung Monica over his shoulder, opposite Max. He faced the entrance.

"Wait!"

Everyone looked at Monica. The Sea Serpent hissed.

"I'm fine. I don't feel strange or anything. Does it sound like I have a concussion?"

"Maybe it just hasn't kicked in yet," Max said.

"Max, I'm okay. I'll handle that monster."

"But, Monica, you're—"

"I'm used to fighting, even when I'm hurt as badly as I am now." Images of the fight against the Killer Snake flooded her head. Her eyebrows slanted farther downward. "It reminds me of the snake monster Milane and I encountered in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. I defeated it myself then, and I'll defeat it myself now."

"But you can't dodge," Kuririn said.

"I'll block. Gokuu, take Max to Dr. Dell."

Gokuu stared at Monica. He grinned. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Good luck." He placed Monica onto his feet. Max eyed Gokuu, then Monica, then Gokuu, then Monica, his eyes wider than Monica had ever seen, his jaw nearly touching the floor. Gokuu ran toward the entrance. Max stared at her with his surprised expression until he disappeared from sight.

Yamcha allowed his stance to lax. "If you want to. But we'll step in if things get hairy."

Kuririn nodded. "Yeah."

"Things won't." Monica glared at the Sea Serpent. _I can't let it bite me. Not after what happened to Kuririn._

The Sea Serpent dove underground, and the ground began to quake. Monica ran in all directions until the Sea Serpent emerged before her. Before the Sea Serpent could tackle her, she thrust her Dusack against its forehead. Its blade snapped in half. One half landed several yards past Kuririn and Yamcha.

"Damn!" Monica leaned sideways. The Sea Serpent bit air. _I _can _dodge._

"Yamcha, let's go."

"Hold on, guys."

"But what're you gonna fight with?"

Monica withdrew her Serpent Slicer from her pouch. "This should help."

The Sea Serpent dove toward her, baring its teeth. Monica sliced horizontally, and the Sea Serpent pulled its head backward. A cut formed on its forehead, and blood gushed from it.

Monica smiled wryly. _Looks like this'll do the trick. _

The Sea Serpent hissed and jumped. It neared the ceiling and then dove toward Monica. Monica jumped backward, but the shell prevented her from going as far as she needed. The Sea Serpent's head rammed Monica's stomach, and she flew backward. She rolled to a stop some yards away.

_Not again. _She planted her feet and began to push. The ground quaked. Monica gritted her teeth.

She exhaled, and her body sunk to the ground. She focused her energy into her legs and feet. A purple aura enveloped them.

The Sea Serpent emerged, its head slamming into Monica's back. Her aura disappeared. She crashed onto the ceiling. As she fell, she pointed her Serpent Slicer toward the Sea Serpent. The Sea Serpent slithered sideways.

Monica's Serpent Slicer became buried into the ground, her body hovering in the air. Her feet touched the ground, and she pulled it out.

She ran toward Sea Serpent, her Serpent Slicer raised. The Sea Serpent slid toward her, its mouth wide open. When it neared her, it chomped. Monica leaned sideways. It ate air.

Monica jabbed its eye with her sword. It hissed and closed its eye. It rammed its head against Monica's head, and Monica saw flashing red and blue lights. She slammed against the wall, the Sea Serpent's head enveloping her vision. It began to grind her up and down.

It opened its mouth. Monica flinched as she smelled its breath.

She thrust the Serpent Slicer into its mouth. The Sea Serpent's eye widened, and Monica became covered in its vomit. She prevented herself from closing her eyes. The Sea Serpent withdrew its head as it hacked vomit. She slid onto her feet.

She slashed the Sea Serpent in all directions. The Sea Serpent's vomiting ceased, and it chomped her sword-wielding arm. Her assault ended. Monica stepped away, but the Sea Serpent's teeth remained fixed on her arm.

"Yamcha, we're going, no matter what she says." Kuririn sprinted toward the Sea Serpent.

Yamcha followed. "You don't have to tell me twice."

Monica's vision dimmed. Two heads emerged from the Sea Serpent's original head. The two heads hissed.

Monica shook her head, her gaze fixed on the Sea Serpent. _No, this isn't real. The poison must be getting to me. _She glanced at the three heads. _But, which one is real?_

One head bit down on one leg. The other chomped her other leg. The third's teeth remained fixed on her arm.

The world spun, and ecstasy spread throughout her body. She grinned, and her eyes fluttered.

She looked the Sea Serpent in each of its eyes and laughed. "Y'know, it's okay if Griffon destroys this world. I feel great, so it's all right." Her words were slurred.

She cupped one hand around her mouth. "Griffon! I know you're listening, Griffon. It's okay if you destroy the world. You must have a really good reason for wanting to do that, so it's okay by me. By the way, it's okay that you commanded Gaspard to kill my father too."

She chuckled. "Gaspard. Killing my father." She closed her eyes and laughed. When she opened them, darkness surrounded her. She looked around.

"I must be sleeping. So this is what it looks like while you're asleep."

She blinked twice, and she glared. "That's right. I'm in the middle of a fight." She twirled around, swinging her Serpent Slicer. "Where'd that snake go? I'll slice him in half."

King Raybrandt appeared across from her. Monica stopped in mid-twirl, her Serpent Slicer raised. She smiled and then frowned.

"Father? What're you doing here at a time like this? I'm in the middle of a fight. You'll get hurt." She grinned. "Actually, that's okay. If the Sea Serpent bites you, maybe you'll feel as good as I do right now." She giggled.

King Raybrandt's expression hardened. "Monica, I've come to tell you that this is not an illusion. The Sea Serpent has grown two more heads. You must be much more careful." He smiled. "However, I have trained you well. You will be able to defeat it with the Serpent Slicer. Definitely." He turned and began to walk away, laughing. "Definitely."

Monica reached toward him. "Wait, Father. I want to talk to you again. Kuririn and Yamcha will defeat the Sea Serpent for me. They'll get it to stop biting me, so I'll have all the time in the world to talk to you. I just want to talk to you again. Please."

King Raybrandt stopped and looked at her. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Monica. If I talk to you, you'll become emotional for the next few days."

"No, I won't. I wasn't emotional when you first died, and I'm emotional now. But I will become more emotional if you don't talk to me."

King Raybrandt shook his head. "It's the opposite of what you think. You'll become emotional, and your emotions will cause you to slow down. Others will slow down because of their worry for you. You will not be able to defeat Griffon in a timely fashion."

Monica snorted. "I don't need to defeat Griffon. Let him destroy the world." Tears filled her eyes. "I just want to talk to you."

"I'm very sorry, Monica. I assure you, we will speak again."

Monica ran toward King Raybrandt, her arms stretched to her sides. Before she could throw her arms around him, he faded. Monica stumbled forward. She straightened and looked around.

"Father? Father, are you here?" She bit her lip. She blinked, and tears fell down her face. "I want to talk to you. Don't leave me."

She glared. "That's right. I'm in the middle of a fight." She began to swivel around, swinging her Serpent Slicer. She stopped and then blinked. "Wait a minute." She raised an eyebrow and frowned.

"That was strange." She paused. "Or was it?" She gripped her temples. "Wasn't it?"

* * *

Monica's eyes rolled back. The Sea Serpent's mouth was clamped on her arm.

"Uh-oh. Kuririn, we have to hurry."

"I know." Kuririn jumped and slammed his fist beside the cut on its head. The Sea Serpent reared back, its fangs sliding out of Monica's arm. It hissed.

Kuririn looked at his bruising hand. "Geez, this guy's hide is tough." He visualized Monica's smile and blushed. He hardened his expression. "But I'll take care of him just the same. Give Monica an Antidote Drink."

Yamcha stared at Kuririn. _Did he just…? Can't worry about that right now. _He ran to Monica and then plunged his hand into her pouch. He rummaged for some seconds. He grinned and withdrew an Antidote Drink. He gripped her lower jaw and then pulled it downward. He poured the green liquid down her throat.

Monica blinked. Her irises returned. She stared into Yamcha's eyes for several seconds. She looked him up and down. She grinned, and her eyes sparkled.

"Father, is that you? Please talk to me." She embraced him and buried her head into his chest.

Yamcha's eyes widened. "M-Monica, I'm not your father." A blush crept onto his face. "I'm looking at you and, trust me, I'm not your father." His blush deepened, and he eyed the ceiling. His frown twitched into a smile. "If Buruma somehow gets down here and sees us like this, we'll both be in trouble."

Monica buried her head farther. "That's okay, Father." She rubbed her head up and down. "Boy, your chest sure is hard."

Yamcha jammed his hand into her pouch and then withdrew an Antidote Drink. Monica gently released herself and looked into his eyes. Yamcha's face became scarlet.

_Why is she so tempting?_

"What did you say earlier? If bloomers comes down here and sees us, she'll be upset?" Monica cocked her head and placed a finger to her chin. "Bloomers… Underwear? Underwear is alive?"

"No, no, open your mouth."

Monica did so. "What, is there something in there?"

"There is now." Yamcha poured the Antidote Drink in her mouth. Monica stepped back and began to cough. The Antidote Drink splashed on Yamcha's clothes.

"Wh-what was that?" She gazed into his eyes, her own glistening with tears. "Why are you trying to choke me, Father?"

"I, I wasn't trying to choke you, and I'm not your father. I'm Yamcha. Remember me?"

"Well, I thought you were my father." Monica blinked, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Don't cry, Monica. I was trying to help you. You've gotta accept my help, not cough it up."

Monica blinked, and her eyes twinkled. "Oh, you were trying to help me. You were choking me because you wanted to help me. That makes sense. Thank you, Father." She hugged him and rubbed her head against his chest.

Yamcha's face became flushed. _Can't be tempted. While she's doing this… _He withdrew Mighty Healing from her pouch. He shoved its needle beside the serpent's bite.

Monica's eyes softened. She watched Yamcha press the button on top and smiled as the medicine drained into her skin. "When did you become a doctor, Father? I thought you were a king."

"Another one." Yamcha withdrew another, and he shoved it into her arm. She blinked twice. Clearness returned to her eyes. He withdrew it and straightened so that her head was no longer pressed against his chest. She remained upright.

"Yamcha? The snake, did I kill it?" She looked around. "And where's my Dusack?" She inhaled and then scrunched her face. "What is that smell?" She examined her body. "Oh. Me."

Yamcha sighed. _Thank. Goodness._ "Your Dusack broke. As for the snake…" He looked at Kuririn, who dodged the Sea Serpent's bites. Monica looked in the same direction.

"Okay." Monica faced Kuririn and the Sea Serpent. "I'll tell him to stop. I can take care of it myself."

Yamcha wrapped his arms around Monica's waist. "No, you can't. You probably don't realize it, but you're poisoned right now. Your head, too. It slammed against the ceiling earlier. You might have a concussion again. Remember what happened last time you had a concussion?"

"I'm just fine."

"The way you were acting earlier, I don't think so."

Monica's eyebrows furrowed. "How was I acting?"

Yamcha averted his gaze. "Well…"

"It doesn't matter now. I'm fine. I can handle that Sea Serpent. Trust me."

Yamcha tightened his grip around her waist. "Nuh-uh. I don't think so."

Kuririn looked at Monica and Yamcha. Monica smiled. A blush began to appear on Kuririn's face.

The Sea Serpent smacked Kuririn's back with its tail, and he crashed into the wall. Sheets of debris fell on him. The Sea Serpent repeatedly smashed him farther into the wall.

Monica slumped. "I was trying to tell him that I was okay, not distract him."

Yamcha gritted his teeth. "I have to go help him."

"No, I will. I can handle that snake. I won't let myself get bitten again." She smirked. "Besides, if you let me go, no one will be here to keep me from fighting the snake, even if I have to fight with you."

Yamcha bit his lip. "Good point."

She looked into Yamcha's eyes. "See? My eyes aren't cloudy or anything. I'm perfectly fine."

Yamcha stared at her for a moment and then slipped his arms off her waist.

She ran toward the Sea Serpent and stockpiled her energy. She channeled the energy into her sword, her legs, and her feet, and a purple aura enveloped them. She jumped toward the Sea Serpent.

The Sea Serpent withdrew its head to headbutt Kuririn, whose legs hung out a hole in the wall. She landed on the Sea Serpent's back. The Sea Serpent looked at her, wide-eyed.

She thrust the Serpent Slicer downward, into its neck. It pierced through the other side. The color drained from the Sea Serpent's eyes.

Monica pulled the Serpent Slicer out. She hopped off and then took some steps backward. She channeled energy into her legs. She jumped toward it. As she jumped, she sliced the Sea Serpent's neck. She landed and stumbled.

_Geez. This shell._ She turned around.

The Sea Serpent's eye rolled back. It coughed, and a bloody Luna Stone and Geostone emerged. They plopped onto the ground. Its head fell. Before the remainder of its body could reach the ground, both parts disintegrated.

She raised her arms and looked over herself, her face scrunched. She flicked her arms. Some vomit splashed on the ground and mixed with the blood.

Kuririn twitched. He gripped both sides of the wall and then pushed himself forward. He hopped out the hole and staggered to Monica. Yamcha walked to her. The boys looked her up and down.

"I think it's safe to say that we should get back to Veniccio." Kuririn cringed and clutched his forehead.

"Definitely." She placed the Luna Stone and Geostone in her pouch. She picked up her blade, which lay several yards away. She deposited her Serpent Slicer in her pouch and then repaired her Dusack. Its blade glinted.

She looked at the spot in which the Sea Serpent had disintegrated and smiled. "I'll have to thank Lin later." She frowned at Kuririn. "Sorry for making you pick up the slack for me."

Kuririn stifled a cough. His cheeks puffed up. He exhaled, and his cheeks deflated.

Monica raised an eyebrow. Yamcha crossed his arms and smirked.

"I-I'm all right. No trouble at all." He stifled another cough, his cheeks inflating. He placed a hand on the back of his head and grinned so that his face resembled that of a blowfish.

Seconds of silence passed in which Monica and Yamcha stared at a grinning Kuririn.

Yamcha looked at the entrance. "Well, ready to head back to Veniccio?"

Monica nodded. "Sure am."

* * *

Buruma, Oolong, and Puar sat on the edge of the pier before the red house. They watched Monica, Kuririn, and Yamcha leave Ocean's Roar Cave.

"If you're looking for Max," Oolong said when the three ran to them, "he's in there." He pointed to the red house with his thumb. His eyes flickered over Monica's body. "And, by the looks of it, you need Dr. Dell, too."

Monica examined her body and scrunched her face. "Not to mention a bath. Ick, this is so gross." The blood from her gash across her stomach had mixed with the vomit. A splatter of red-orange decorated her shirt.

She, Kuririn, and Yamcha entered the red house. Dr. Dell, Gokuu, Donny, Claire, and Max looked at them. Claire gasped. Max's eyes widened.

Monica smiled wryly. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"You'd better lay down." Dr. Dell gestured toward Max, who lay on the bed, his turtle shell on the nightstand. "I have a portable examination table in the Blackstone One's front car. Gokuu, can you go get it for me?"

"Uh-huh." Gokuu ran out the house. A few minutes later, he opened the door with his shoulder and wheeled the examination table inside. "Where do you want this?"

"Next to the bed is fine."

Gokuu pushed it beside the bed. Monica slid the shell's straps off her shoulders. Her shell slammed on the floor, and the floor cracked.

"Sorry, Claire."

Claire stared at the shell, lips pursed, and nodded.

Monica climbed on the examination table and then lowered herself onto her back. She sighed and eyed Max. "How're you doing?"

Max frowned. "I should be asking you that."

"Like I said, it's not as bad as it looks."

"I see bite marks on your arm," Dr. Dell said. "What bit you?"

"A snake monster. Don't worry. I already drank a few antidotes."

"Th-the Sea Serpent?"

Monica averted her gaze to the wall and nodded.

"She had a few hallucinations, I think," Yamcha said. "She became really emotional and thought I was her father."

Monica's face became scarlet. "I, I thought…you were, my…father." She stared at the ceiling for some seconds, her mouth ajar. Her head creaked toward Yamcha, a twitching smile on her face. "S-s-sorry. Sorry."

Yamcha stifled a laugh. "It's fine. You didn't hurt me. Just did some stuff."

She placed a hand on her forehead. "Please spare me the details."

"Anyway, Dr. Dell, I gave her two Antidote Drinks and two Mighty Healings. I think she's okay."

"I'm going to give her another Mighty Healing, just in case."

Monica nodded and closed her eyes. She drifted to sleep and did not feel the needle pierce her arm.


	46. A Surviving Soldier

**Chapter Forty-six: A Surviving Soldier**

The next morning, the trio, Kuririn, Yamcha, all fully recovered because of Dr. Dell's medicine, and Muten Roushi met at Ocean's Roar Cave's entrance.

"How's my training been going?" Muten Roushi said.

Monica smiled sheepishly. "It's really hard."

"What, did you expect it to be easy?"

"Of course not." A grin crept onto her face. "I can tell that it'll come in handy when we take on Griffon. I mean, I've already gotten a little used to mine."

"Yeah," Max said. "Mine's definitely not as heavy as it was when I first put it on."

Muten Roushi nodded. "You're getting better already."

Max and Monica exchanged smiles.

"Now, I have an exercise for you all."

Monica raised a hand. "Wait a minute. Shouldn't we be getting that medicine for Shingala?"

"Like I said, you never know what you could encounter in Shigura Village. For this exercise, you'll be swimming in the sea, against the current. That means your feet will face the shore."

Max's eyebrows furrowed. "Swimming?"

Monica looked at him. "You never learned how to swim, Max?"

Max scratched the back of his head. "W-well, there's really no place to swim in Palm Brinks, so..."

"Ah, right." She blushed lightly. _I keep forgetting how long Palm Brinks has been closed off._

"In that case," Muten Roushi said, "you can run against the current instead. For some reason, the sea is shallow enough for people to run in. Get to it."

The five ran to the sea. Max watched Monica, Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha dive into it, their feet facing the shore. They began to kick their legs and dunk one arm into the sea at a time, the other arm pointing toward the shore. Every second, each arm would alternate positions.

He visualized his mother teaching him how to swim. She held him in the water as he struggled to remain afloat. He kicked so that water splashed on her face, but she continued to smile and encourage him, tell him that he was doing a great job and that he was getting the hang of it.

A short time later, Max was nearly an expert at swimming. He and his mother played, splashed water on each other, raced against each other. They dunked their heads underwater and watched the sea turtle continue its journey across the seven seas. They followed it so that they could also explore the seven seas. Schools of fish swam around them, and some joined their adventure…

"You can't stare at them all day, lad."

Max's eyes flashed to life, and he started. Muten Roushi stood beside him.

"It looked like you were in a different world for a few minutes. Is everything okay?"

Max scratched his cheek with one finger. "Um, yeah. I was just zoning out."

Muten Roushi blinked. For a moment, there was silence. _It seems like he doesn't want to talk about it. _"All right, then." He pointed his cane to the sea. "Get to it."

Max wished that he could continue to imagine he and his mother in the sea, but he nodded. "Right." _Defeating Griffon is much more important right now. _

He ran into the sea and began to run in place. Fish swam around the group, and some turned and swam in the opposite direction.

Muten Roushi watched the five exercise throughout the day. Buruma, Oolong, Puar, Claire, and Donny occasionally joined him. He periodically gave the five bottles of water to drink.

Monica eyed Max frequently to ensure that his eyes were not glazed, hoping that he would meet Elena soon.

The five continued until Muten Roushi told them to stop in the late afternoon. They were thrust, facedown, onto the shore. They lay and panted for some minutes.

"Stand up, everyone," Muten Roushi said. "You all need to drink some water."

The five staggered to their feet. Their faces were crimson, and their clothes clung to their bodies. Yamcha wiped sweat from his forehead as he and the others followed Muten Roushi into the green iron house. Buruma, who sat on a chair reading a magazine, looked up at them.

"You guys all right?" she said. "Kamesennin had you guys out there all day."

Max nodded and took a water bottle from Muten Roushi. "Thank you." He gulped the water in less than five seconds. He eyed the others. They had also taken and downed bottles of water.

The five drank water for several minutes and walked around the house; their exercise had caused them to be accustomed to moving constantly. They soon relaxed enough to sit in chairs Buruma had placed throughout the house. They sunk into the cushions.

"At this point, I don't know what's worse," Monica said. "Trying to fight monsters or swimming."

"I'm glad the training's working for you," Muten Roushi said.

After the five had rested for nearly an hour, Max stood. "I'd like to go fishing, if you don't mind."

Monica, who drank from a water bottle, coughed. Water nearly emerged from her mouth. She held a fist to her mouth and eyed Max.

"You're not too tired?" Kuririn said.

"I'm still kinda tired, but fishing helps me relax. I'll be sitting on the pier while fishing too, so it won't put any strain on my body."

Monica gulped the water in her mouth. "M-Max—" She coughed—"remember what happened the last time you went fishing?" She coughed once more.

"I'm sure that won't happen here."

Monica raised her eyebrows. "All the fish that live here and you don't think anything bad'll happen?"

"They didn't do anything to us while we were swimming and running."

Monica's shoulders slumped. "But, Max, we weren't trying to trick them with a fishing hook."

"What's the big deal?" Gokuu said. "He's just goin' fishin'."

Monica whipped her head to look at him. "Weren't you with us when we had that whole underwater adventure in Palm Brinks?"

"Yeah, but I still don't get it."

Monica angled her body toward him. "The fish pulled Max underwater when he tried to fish there."

"If they do that again, we can just beat them up."

Monica sighed. "Sometimes, I wish I was as carefree as you."

"Kamesennin, is it okay if I go fishing?"

Muten Roushi looked Max up and down. "As long as your body isn't strained in any way, it should be fine." He eyed Monica. "And I doubt the fish will pull him underwater."

Monica smiled wryly. "You'd be a lot more worried if you saw what happened in Palm Brinks that night."

"I don't think I would. I'm sure you all would be able to hold your own, especially after fighting the machines in Ocean's Roar Cave without the Ridepod's help. If you're ever in an emergency, you can take your shells off." His expression hardened. "But only in emergencies."

Monica stood. "I'm going too." She looked at Gokuu, who still sat. "Gokuu, you come too."

"Why? He's just goin' fishin'."

"We're not going over this again. Come on." She grabbed his arm and pulled him upright.

"We'll be back in a bit." Max led the way out the house. He turned right and stopped. Monica and Gokuu stopped behind him. The trio's eyes widened and began to twinkle.

The evening sun covered the horizon. It illuminated the sea, the rocks, the trio's bodies, all of Veniccio so that everything glowed orange. The sea had become transparent, and the fish it contained had become visible.

Max grinned. "Amazing."

"This is the first time I've seen it myself." Monica turned and disappeared from Max's and Gokuu's fields of vision. Some minutes later, she returned, the remainder of the group behind her. Oolong stood before Max, and Puar floated above the group. Donny placed a hand on his hip, and his smile widened. They watched Veniccio's evening sun set.

* * *

A Shiva, Auntie Medusa, Sand Moler, and two Goyones sat in a circle on the sand, ignoring the setting sun.

The Shiva stood and growled. "All the monsters know we have to do something. You're just repeating what we already know."

A Goyone stood and stepped toward the Shiva. "Then help us do something. We have to go to their territory, kill them all, and destroy their property. Then we won't have to worry about them anymore."

The Shiva scowled. "We know that. But we heard that even the machines couldn't do anything against those humans. What do you think we can do? Besides, I hate to admit it, but age is catching up with us." It gestured to the Auntie Medusa, which nodded. "We can't fight like we used to."

"The other monsters have been hiding." The Auntie Medusa stroked one of the snakes on her head. "My poor snakes have been getting a bit scared too, especially after what happened to the other Auntie Medusa."

The Goyone walked before the line of monsters and spread apart its arms, the sun illuminating its body. "Not if we all work together. That's a major problem we have here. When the humans first came here, they all managed to work together to take over our territory and push us into Ocean's Roar Cave. We have to do the same thing. Let's all go to the human's territory and fight them off."

"First," the Sand Moler said, "we should become familiar with their territory. That way, when we attack, we'll know the terrain well enough to use it to our advantage. I'll dig to familiarize myself with the underground terrain so that the other Sand Molers can attack more effectively."

The Auntie Medusa pointed to the Goyones and Sand Moler. "You three, go scout their territory and make a map of it."

The Goyone stepped back. "U-us?"

"Of course you," the Shiva said. "You're the ones who came to us with this plan. Besides, the Sand Moler will help."

A Goyone averted its eyes and said under its breath, "Sand Molers aren't all that strong."

The Sand Moler tackled the Goyone's side, and they toppled onto the sand. The Sand Moler scrambled off the Goyone, scratching the Goyone all the while, and buried itself.

"I'm not deaf."

The Goyone jumped to its feet. It withdrew a spear from its mouth and pointed both spears toward the Sand Moler. "I really oughta—"

The Auntie Medusa smacked her trident on the Goyone's and Sand Moler's heads. The Sand Moler sunk farther into the sand.

"Will you two stop?" she said as the Goyone staggered in all directions. "This is why we never get along: smart comments like that and then you all having to prove your manhood or whatever." She rolled her eyes.

"Stop messing around and get to Veniccio," the Shiva said.

The Goyone steadied itself and shook its head rapidly. It exchanged looks with the other Goyone, which bit its lip.

"W-well, I guess we could."

"No, you will." The Shiva raised its staff. "Or else."

"Or else you'll whack us with your cane?" The Goyone shivered. "Oh, how scary."

The Shiva slammed its staff onto the Goyone's back, and the Goyone crashed into the sand. "I'll also make you my mate."

The standing Goyone gulped. Its comrade scrambled to its feet, its eyes hazy, and then fell facedown. It twitched.

The Goyone grabbed its comrade's fin and then pulled it onto its feet. "We're on it."

The other Goyone shook its head. The haziness in its eyes disappeared, and it looked forward. "L-let's go."

The two Goyones ran toward Veniccio. The Sand Moler dug underneath them.

"So tough-acting," a Shiva said.

* * *

The Goyones and Sand Moler arrived in Veniccio. The Sand Moler continued to dig, and the sand engulfed it so that it was hidden from the monsters and the humans.

"It's, it's…" A Goyone stepped back, its eyes wide. It pointed at Max, who sat on the edge of the pier and fished. "One of those sticks, one of those sticks that killed almost all the fish in the ocean."

"We have to stop that human," the other Goyone said. "They're starting to take over our territory, first by exterminating all the fish again."

Gokuu, who stood beside Max, stared at a cave to their right. _Is that a quicker way to Shigura Village? _He pointed to it. "Where d'you think that leads?"

Max shrugged. "Dunno. Wanna check it out?"

_I'd much rather explore a cave than let Max fish, _Monica thought. "Let's."

Max reeled in the line and then deposited the rod in his pouch. The trio jumped off the pier and ran toward the cave.

"What do you think they're doing?" a Goyone said.

"Who knows? But it's good that human's decided to stop using that stick, at least for now. Let's stay out of their sight and scout their territory at night. That's usually when humans sleep."

The Goyones backed into the shadows beneath the cliff above Ocean's Roar Cave's entrance.

The trio looked around the cave and out its opening, which appeared to be a continuation of Veniccio.

"Looks like this cave just leads to another part of Veniccio." Monica pointed to the opening. "There's nothing over there, as far as I can see."

Max's eyes brightened. "Wow. I didn't know beaches were so large."

"Yeah. They're beautiful, aren't they?"

"Sure are. When we get time, let's check out the beach over there."

"Be careful." The airy voice echoed throughout the cave. The trio looked around.

Monica placed a hand on her Dusack's hilt. "What was that?"

"Maybe it was another monster." Max withdrew his Cubic Hammer and Question Shooter. "We'd better look around."

The trio searched the cave, touching the sand and the walls, examining the ceiling. Gokuu looked behind two rocks that sat against the cave's wall.

"The monsters...revenge…protecting their territory. Be careful." The same voice.

Monica unsheathed her Dusack. "Who's talking to us? Show yourself."

Gokuu outstretched his arms. His hands touched clammy skin. He rubbed his hands up and down, feeling its bumpy, almost scaly, texture.

"Guys, I think I found somethin'."

Max and Monica ran to Gokuu. They looked around.

"Where?" Max said.

"I dunno what it is, but I'm touchin' somethin' invisible right now."

"Invisible?" Monica tightened her grip on her Dusack, and her knuckles whitened.

Max reached out and touched the creature's arm. His eyes widened. "Whoa. Feels different than anything I've ever touched."

"What are you?" Monica said.

"Water, please." The voice did not echo. The creature's wheezing became hearable. "I need to drink water."

Max nodded and turned toward the cave's entrance. "A-all right. I'll go get some."

Monica grabbed his arm. "Max, hold on."

"What's wrong?"

Monica struggled to keep her voice at a normal volume. "'What's wrong?' Do you realize what we're doing right now? We're talking to an invisible monster, that's what's wrong." She glared at the spot that Gokuu's hands touched. "Or, this could be a trap."

"If it is a monster, it seems friendly. I'm sure we can take down whatever traps they have set up for us. Besides, Kamesennin, Kuririn, and Yamcha are out there, and if they see that we haven't come back after a while, they'll help us. I'll be right back." He ran out the cave.

Monica stared at the spot Gokuu's hands touched. She looked up and down repeatedly, squinting.

_It really is invisible._

She inched forward and outstretched her arm. She touched a clammy, hairy chest. She nearly jumped back and scrunched her face.

"You feel it too?" Gokuu said.

"Y-yeah." Monica bit her lip.

"Don't be afraid." The voice. "I won't hurt you. I'm here to help you all with the monsters in Ocean's Roar Cave."

Monica narrowed her eyes. "An ally?"

"Yes. At least, I hope I'm of use to you. I lived in Veniccio before Griffon destroyed the world."

Monica straightened. "You know about Griffon?"

"Yes. I've witnessed many years worth of historical events."

Max returned, a bottle of water in hand.

"Ah, good. Over here."

Max stopped between Monica and Gokuu. He reached toward the voice. The bottle was snatched from his hand, and he started.

The bottle tilted upward. The water poured out like a waterfall and pooled where a man's stomach would reside. Gulping noises echoed.

Max remained motionless. Monica's jaw dropped. Gokuu's mouth became "O"-shaped.

As the ghost drank, its body parts, one by one, became visible yet transparent. Once the bottle was empty, all of its body parts had become visible. He appeared as a man in his mid-twenties and wore a cloak.

"Much better." The ghost crunched the bottle with its hand. "Are there any trash cans around here?"

Silence pervaded the cave as the trio stared at the ghost. Monica's mouth hung open, and her eyes were wide. Max remained frozen in the same position in which he had been while giving the ghost the water bottle.

"Amazin'," Gokuu said.

"Did you all hear my question?"

"Wh-what question?" Monica said.

"Trash cans. Do you have any?"

"U-um…" Monica pointed to the houses, looking from the ghost's face to the water bottle and back again. "In, in some of the iron houses, there are. Trash cans, that is."

The ghost smiled, his lips small. He looked the trio over and chuckled. "I bet this is strange."

Monica slowly nodded, her jaw slack and eyes wide. Gokuu stared at the ghost with a neutral expression. Max looked the ghost up and down, his mouth parted.

Max reached into his pouch and withdrew his camera. "Do you mind if I take a picture of you?"

"Nope. Go ahead."

Max snapped a photo of the ghost. Its picture slid out the bottom of the camera. He stared at the photo, grinning. "All right. It came out great." He looked at Monica and Gokuu, who stared at the ghost. _Guess they're not very interested in the pic. _He placed the camera and photo in his pouch.

The ghost peered over Monica's shoulder. "I see that you guys are trying to restore Veniccio. Good goal, but the monsters are gonna try and make this their territory again soon, so you might wanna be careful."

Monica scoffed. "Tell us something we don't know."

"Well, I've been watching you all."

Monica's pupils contracted. "H-huh?"

"Yep. I've been floating around, watching you fight and whatnot." The ghost looked around. "Aren't there supposed to be more of you?"

"Yeah." Max pointed to the houses. "They're in the iron houses."

"I'd rather explain everything in front of all of them so you don't have to repeat yourselves." He looked at the water bottle. "I'd also like to throw this out."

* * *

The trio, the ghost behind them, jumped onto the piers. The moon had replaced the evening sun, and stars twinkled around it.

"They're probably all sleeping," Monica said. "I'll get the people in the iron houses. Gokuu, you get everyone in Pau's cave. Max, you get the ghost to a trash can."

Max and Gokuu nodded. The trio separated.

* * *

Max and the ghost ran into Veniccio Station. Max pointed to a trash can to their left.

"Right there."

"Ah, thanks." The ghost threw the bottle inside. He looked forward. Cedric stared at him, wide-eyed, and pressed himself against the Blackstone One.

"M-M-Max, wh-what's that you got there?"

"I guess we should explain what happened to you all, too. Can you get Borneo and Erik?"

Cedric's breaths became shallow. "A-all right, Max. A-a-all right."

He felt for the train's handle as he stared at the ghost. His hand slammed against it. He fumbled until he gripped it. He pulled it open and then backed inside.

Minutes later, he returned, Borneo, Erik, and the Ridepod behind him, Borneo and Erik laughing. Their laughs turned into gasps when they saw the ghost. They stared at the ghost for some moments.

Borneo said, "What in the world?" and backed away. He tripped and began to stumble. He fell against the Ridepod.

Erik backed away and pointed at the ghost, his mouth moving up and down as though he talked. He tripped on the Ridepod's foot and fell onto one of the train's benches.

Cedric smiled. "E-e-even after I warned ya, you're both still s-so surprised."

"I, I, I thought you were just m-messing with us," Erik said.

Cedric raised a brow and placed his hands on his hips. "Now when have I played any practical jokes on you two? Huh?"

"Hey, Max, that's quite a friend you've got there," the Ridepod said. "Where'd ya get him?"

"Monica and Gokuu should've gathered everyone else by now," Max said. "We'll explain everything on the beach."

* * *

The group stood on the sand before the piers.

"So, what's this thing that's so important that you had to wake us up?" Oolong rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, really." Donny stretched. "I haven't been able to get any proper sleep 'round here."

"You'll see," Gokuu said.

Monica looked toward Veniccio Station. "I dunno why it's taking Max so long to get to a trash can."

The remainder of the group exchanged looks, some furrowing their brows.

Max, Cedric, Borneo, Erik, and the Ridepod ran down the pier and stopped before the group.

"What do you have to tell us about?" Puar said.

"There's…" Max looked around. "He was here just a second ago."

"Who?"

The ghost appeared beside Max. The majority of the group hollered. Puar hid behind Yamcha, who had stepped back. Kuririn stumbled into Muten Roushi, who said, "A ghost, eh?" and then blushed; Claire had hidden behind him. Buruma latched onto Yamcha. He wrapped an arm around her and pressed her body against his. Oolong tripped and fell. Donny withdrew his gun. Mayor Need fainted onto Muten Roushi's shoulder.

The ghost grinned crookedly. "Sorry to scare you all."

"Sorry?" Buruma said. "You did that on purpose!"

The ghost stifled a laugh, and his cheeks inflated slightly.

Puar peered over Yamcha's shoulder. "Wh-what are you?"

"A ghost."

Buruma's teeth appeared to sharpen so that they resembled fangs. "We know!"

The ghost blurted out a laugh as he looked the group over.

Buruma pointed at the ghost with a claw-like nail. "This isn't funny, you!"

The ghost's eyes settled upon Muten Roushi, and he quieted.

"What's so interesting about me?" Muten Roushi said.

The ghost chuckled and averted his gaze. "I've come to explain everything—why the monsters here are so wary of humans, what Veniccio's humans did before Griffon wiped them all out, everything. My explanation should help you all." He smirked. "Everyone recovered enough to listen to me?"

The group straightened. Mayor Need opened his eyes, muttering, "A-a-a ghost. A ghost." He looked at the ghost, and he became wide-eyed. He gripped Muten Roushi's forearm. Oolong slipped his hands into his pockets and shuddered.

The ghost looked each of them in the eyes. "Okay. Here goes.

"Before the world was destroyed fifteen years ago, humans used to live here in Veniccio. They had cleared monsters out of Veniccio and pushed them into Ocean's Roar Cave before I was born. Shops covered almost every inch of this beach, and the tourism and commercialism were great. Tourists really brought in a lot of money.

"Many tourists fished. So many would stand on the edge of the piers and stare at the sea, waiting for Bons to take their bait. Bons are exclusive to Veniccio and are one of the best-tasting, most nutritious fish in the world. They sell for a high price everywhere.

"Some time later, a noticeable chunk of fish suddenly disappeared. It seemed that just one species had disappeared. There are monsters called Goyones in Ocean's Roar Cave. There used to be a species of fish in the sea that looked just like them. I have no idea how, but maybe they grew legs to stop being fished out."

Monica frowned. _Could the fish in Palm Brinks' lake do the same thing? _She imagined Gummys and Nonkys with legs wrecking havoc on Palm Brinks. _That certainly wouldn't be good._

"Some tourists decided to move here. Our population became great, and more and more tourists began to come here. We had to expand to accommodate them—expand into Ocean's Roar Cave, where all the monsters live.

"We gathered a bunch of people to clear the monsters out. I'm one of them." The ghost's cheeks reddened yet remained transparent. "They called us soldiers, even though we're really not since we don't fight in any wars or anything.

"So we went into Ocean's Roar Cave and began killing the monsters. In areas that we had cleared the monsters, we built beach houses and such into them. We had even begun building a hotel.

"The monsters didn't do anything harsh for a long time. They attacked, yeah, but only individually. Then, they realized what we were doing. Saw the buildings, the construction on the hotel, I guess, and decided to fight back. Hard. A whole army of them came to fight against us, and the number of monsters was much larger than our forces. A Goyone stabbed me in the heart, and I died. I didn't want to die, of course, because I wanted to see Veniccio expand successfully and completely. I used all my will to prevent myself from going into that tunnel—" He closed his eyes "—that tunnel that would be the point of no return, that tunnel that would ensure my death. And I stayed.

"But my body didn't stay. It entered the heavens, but my soul remained here. I wanted a body so badly to fight against the monsters and see Veniccio to completion. That was when Griffon wiped out all the humans and left only the monsters.

"I became depressed. Not only was I the only human left in Veniccio and possibly the world, but Veniccio's expansion had also been stopped. I remained here, constantly visualizing its completion that would probably never come. Every few years, I wandered the world, but that didn't make me happy. Nothing would.

"When I saw you all, I began to gain hope that maybe you would build Veniccio up and complete the expansion into Ocean's Roar Cave. Thanks to you all, some parts of my body are becoming solid again. I felt my cheeks becoming hot earlier. That means that my face is returning."

The soldier frowned. "But it looks like you're only building up Veniccio. Are you all planning on building in Ocean's Roar Cave too?" He grinned. "Maybe a hotel that towers high into the skies to draw in tourists."

Silence for a long while.

Monica blinked twice. She looked at everyone. Their jaws were slack, and they were bug-eyed.

"I don't know about anyone else," she said, everyone's attention turning to her, "but it looks like humans are the bad guys this time. Monsters actually have a legitimate reason to attack us randomly." She glared into the soldier's eyes. "We're not 'expanding' into Ocean's Roar Cave. The monsters belong there. They're attacking us, not the other way around. We're only going through it to go to Shigura Village and get Shigura medicine."

The soldier stared at Monica. He gritted his teeth and clenched a hand into a fist. He unfurled the fist and then clenched it once more. "How disappointing. I wanted to see a new, great Veniccio, towering buildings." He huffed.

His mouth twisted into a smirk. He laughed. "I see that the humans of today are more stupid than the humans of yesterday. Why _not_ build over Ocean's Roar Cave? It's beneficial to the human race."

"But it's not beneficial to the monsters," Max said. "They need a place to live, too."

"They don't benefit the world in any way. Humans do. Let's wipe them out this time. Help me wipe the monsters out."

Max shook his head, as did the group.

The ghost clenched his hands so that his nails dug into his skin. "I see. Then you all are just as good as the monsters are to me, that is, not good at all. I'll kill you all and build over Ocean's Roar Cave myself. After all, if my soul willed it so that I could get a physical body again, then I'm sure that my willpower will allow me to take over Ocean's Roar Cave myself."

A flail appeared in the soldier's hand. Max and Monica withdrew their weapons. Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamcha, and Muten Roushi took battle stances.

"We might have to use Holy Water on it," Monica said.

"Right." Max withdrew Holy Water from his pouch and threw the water toward the soldier. The soldier faded and then reappeared above Max. He swung his flail onto Max's head, and Max slammed into the sand. The soldier began to smack Max's back with the flail.

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha charged to the soldier as Monica ran toward him. The soldier disappeared. The boys' fists met each other, and they began to shake from the forces of the punches.

The soldier appeared behind Monica. He tapped Monica on the shoulder.

_Does he think I was born yesterday? _Monica continued to run. When she was a fair distance away, she whirled around to face the soldier, who disappeared.

She looked around. "Damn. He keeps pulling that disappearing act."

"It's not an act. I will it so, so I do it."

Monica doubled over. Then, she crashed into the ground.

Max, who had stood, said, "What's going on, Monica?"

"I-invisible..." She grunted as the soldier stomped on her back.

Max, Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha ran to Monica. They all became wide-eyed and gripped their stomachs.

The soldier laughed. A breeze swept through Veniccio, and the majority of the group shuddered.

"Just try and kill a ghost."

Max looked around. He flew across the beach and into the wall beside Pau's cave. Pau stood in the cave's entrance, his mouth open.

"What's happening out here?"

Max eyed Pau. "Pau, get back in your cave."

"Huh?"

The soldier appeared before Pau. Pau hollered and stumbled backward.

The soldier grinned. "Hello there. You're a Moon Person, aren't you?"

The soldier disappeared. Yamcha passed through the spot where he had been, his fist outstretched. Yamcha whirled around to face the soldier, who had appeared before Pau.

The solder glared. "Save your energy." He smirked at Pau. "As I was saying, since you're a Moon Person, I'm sure you blame the humans for your falling from the moon."

Pau's eyes widened. He looked the ghost up and down. "Wh-who are you?"

"I want the humans gone, too. They're getting in the way of my ambitions, my dreams, and will soon destroy them, just like they did to your family."

Pau's jaw slackened. "My family… How do you know…?"

"I've lived and been dead for quite a long time. I see things." The soldier raised his flail. "I'll teach you how to fight so you can kill these humans." He placed his hands on his chest. "Even though I'm a human, you can trust me."

Pau narrowed his eyes. "Not by the way you're treating the others."

"A human blew up the moon, you know. I was there, at that tournament, as a ghost. I saw the human who did it. And he's standing right over there." The soldier pointed to Muten Roushi.

_Ah, well,_ Muten Roushi thought. _It was bound to come out sometime._

Kuririn stepped forward. "Jackie Chun blew up the moon, not Muten Roushi-sama."

The soldier snorted. "You all didn't see through his act? Muten Roushi is Jackie Chun."

"Yeah, right," Kuririn said.

"All of you, imagine Jackie Chun and Muten Roushi standing right next to each other and then tell me they're not the same person."

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha closed their eyes and did so. When they opened them, they looked at Muten Roushi.

"Muten Roushi-sama did kinda look like Jackie Chun," Kuririn said.

"That true, Kamesennin?" Gokuu said.

"I should let you all know." Muten Roushi glanced at Pau, who looked him up and down with an open mouth. "Yes, I am Jackie Chun. I wanted to show you that there's always someone stronger out there, and you all must continue to train throughout your lives."

Gokuu grinned. "That's easy to do."

"No wonder you were so strong," Kuririn said.

Muten Roushi glared at the soldier. "Let's focus on our current problem."

Pau allowed his arms to fall limp. "So, you destroyed my home." He narrowed his eyes. "No, our home. A lot of Moon People lived in Yellow Drops. I was born there."

Muten Roushi nodded. "Yes, I know."

Pau gritted his teeth. "And another human even came there and helped build a robot, and he saved the world from the Dark Genie with it."

"What is he talking about?" Kuririn said.

Monica shrugged. "Beats me."

"A lot of history was made on the moon, in Yellow Drops. But you, you erased a landmark for me, humans, and the Moon race."

Muten Roushi stared at Pau, his expression neutral.

Pau stepped forward and placed a hand on his heart. "Do you even care about what you've done?"

Muten Roushi's shoulders slumped. "Of course I do. But a whole lot more history would've been erased if I hadn't done it. Gokuu had turned into a giant ape, and he was destroying everything he came in contact with. If I hadn't done that, Gokuu would've continued to rampage and killed many people, erasing history here as well."

Pau clenched his hands, and he began to shake. "Are you saying that your human history is more important than the Moon People's?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't destroy the moon completely. Only enough for its light to go out and, well, for you all to fall down. The moon's light did come back soon after I put it out. I know it doesn't bring back your history, but if you and the other Moon People can find a way back up there, you can build another civilization and make more history than before. No one said that since your home was destroyed you had to give up and live on Terra, scattered from others of your kind."

Pau looked down. His bottom lip quaked. _I guess he's right. Who said we had to give up? We can regroup and make better lives for ourselves, better than even our ancestors. _He looked up and smiled. "Yeah." He looked at the sea and then looked Muten Roushi in the eyes, smiling. "You know what? You humans aren't that bad after all."

The soldier bit his lip. "So, you're sided with these humans now. Okay. Okay. Fine. So be it." It floated above the group. "I'll exterminate these humans instead."

* * *

"I remember that guy," the Sand Moler said to himself. His head poked above the surface, and he watched the humans talk. He was grounded in the shadows. "He's one of the humans that tried to take over our territory." He looked over the humans. "There are so many of them. Better go dig for a bunch of monsters."

The Sand Moler dove underground and began to search for the two Goyones.

* * *

The Goyones watched the humans from Ocean's Roar Cave's entrance. They peered above a rock.

One said, "Let's just get a bunch of monsters and—"

"Shh for a second. I think I hear the Sand Moler coming."

The Sand Moler popped out before them.

"I was just thinkin' that we should dig for a bunch of monsters, maybe all the monsters in the cave, and then dig back."

"We were thinking the same thing. Did you scout this area?"

"Yeah, I have every grain of sand memorized. I'll make a map in Ocean's Roar Cave. Did you?"

"Yeah. We did it as soon as night fell. We've got pretty much every inch of this place memorized.

"Good. Let's dig back."

The three monsters headed inside Ocean's Roar Cave.

* * *

The five attempted to fight the soldier, but he disappeared each time they tried to hit him.

Max stopped and poured Holy Water over his body. He raised the bottle. "Guys, come over here and pour this on your body. That way, if he hits you, he'll be hurt too."

The soldier snatched the Holy Water and then threw it into the sea. Its contents poured into the sea and spread throughout. Max bit his lip.

"Did you really think I'd give you time to do that?"

Monica slammed, facedown, onto the sand. She swung her Dusack horizontally above her back in an attempt to slice the soldier. She propped herself on her hands and sputtered sand. "He's invisible again."

"Run as fast as you can," Muten Roushi said. "He might not be able to see you."

"You're mistaken," the soldier said in Muten Roushi's ear. Muten Roushi leaned his head back. "I'm not of Terra anymore. I can see all movement."

Muten Roushi flew into the sea. He flipped onto his feet and then ran before Claire.

"Are you okay?" Claire said.

"Y-yes, miss." _I can't hear him at all. And he's incredibly strong._

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha ran around the beach, their bodies blurred. Yamcha stopped, his mouth agape, pupils contracted. He fell onto his back.

"I'm supernatural, you know." The soldier's voice echoed throughout the beach. Everyone looked around. "I see everything."

Yamcha was smashed into the sand repeatedly until the majority of his body was buried. He lay, motionless.

The soldier laughed. Wind sliced through Veniccio. Buruma hugged herself and rubbed her hands on her arms. Puar hid behind Donny, who looked around, as did Oolong. Claire stepped closer to Muten Roushi, whose teeth were gritted. Mayor Need fought the desire to faint and forced himself to watch so that he could find a weakness in the soldier.

Kuririn flew into Gokuu. The boys fell into the sea, some water splashing onto the piers.

Gokuu stood and shook his body. "That guy hits hella hard."

Kuririn twitched and then stood. "How're we supposed to beat this guy?"

Max ran beside Monica. He looked around. Silence and no sign of the soldier anywhere.

The sun appeared over the horizon. It illuminated the sea, the piers, the entirety of Veniccio.

"O-oh, no." The soldier appeared behind Gokuu, his flail pointed at Gokuu's heart. His eyes were wide as he watched the sun. "No, the sun, my powers."

Gokuu swiveled around to face the soldier. He elbowed the soldier's face, crushing it. The soldier flew toward Monica. When he neared her, she sidestepped and then sliced its stomach. The soldier flew to Max. Max smashed his head with his Cubic Hammer, and the soldier crashed into the sand. Smoke rose from his body.

The soldier shut his eyes. "I can still see it. So bright... One of you—I'm sorry, you guys—one of you, please get me inside that cave you found me in. The sun, I can't survive in the sun. I need shade. No, darkness. Complete darkness."

The trio and Kuririn surrounded him.

Kuririn shrugged and shook his head. "Sorry, buddy. We can't do that."

"Especially after you told us what your true goals were." Monica pointed her Dusack at him. "You'll just destroy the world more."

The soldier covered his eyes with his arms. His body became slimy, and he dripped onto the sand. He released an inhumane wail. The group covered their ears. Pau folded his ears against his cheeks.

Yamcha jolted upright, covering his ears. "Man, what is that noise?"

"Should I finish him off," Monica said, "or should the sun?"

"You should," Kuririn said. "He's yelling so loud, it's burning my ears, and the sun's melting him too slowly."

Monica jumped and landed her sword in the soldier's heart. The soldier exploded in grey. Swirls of grey floated between clouds in the sky, which appeared to be golden.

Monica sheathed her Dusack, sighing. "Glad that's over."

Yamcha staggered to his feet and ran to them. "Everyone all right?"

Kuririn looked everyone over. "Looks like it." He looked at the sky. "That ghost was brutal, though."

The remainder of the group joined the five. They stared at the spot in which the soldier had exploded.

Monica watched the rising sun, her eyes soft. "I actually feel kinda bad for the monsters. I don't know if it'll do much good, but let's tell them that we weren't associated with that soldier or any of the humans from before in any way and that we'll never build over Ocean's Roar Cave. No one deserves to live in fear."

The five ran into Ocean's Roar Cave, Monica leading.


	47. Conciliation

**Chapter Forty-seven: Conciliation**

The five ran toward the floor on which they left off. Monica replayed the soldier's explanation multiple times in her head. Each time she did so, she felt a stronger desire to apologize to the monsters and ensure them that nothing of the sort would happen again.

_They didn't deserve that._

How would she go about apologizing to the monsters? She had addressed her kingdom's people often, but she was not used to speaking or negotiating with monsters. She had communicated well with the monsters in Starlight Canyon, but only because the Dragons had brainwashed them into believing that all humans were cunning and greedy. When the trio arrived and convinced them that humans could be caring and selfless, the monsters formed positive beliefs.

Ocean's Roar Cave's monsters had become so disillusioned with humans that she was unsure if she and the boys would be able to convince them. She did not know how well Kuririn, who wore the white earring, could persuade other humans, much less monsters. Gokuu was too blunt.

Her musings were interrupted by Yamcha, who said, "We've been running through this cave for a while now, but we still haven't seen any monsters. Usually, some are still prowling around."

"They might be planning a giant party for us again," Monica said. "Be careful."

"Max, come in. Hurry."

The five started, Gokuu and Kuririn looking around. Max withdrew his Help Receiver from his pouch and then placed it upon his ear. "Donny, what's wrong?"

Sounds of wood being broken and metal being dented provided background noise. "Monsters, they're everywhere. Just filed out of the dungeon. Y'all gotta get back here, quick."

"We'll be right there." Max deposited his Help Receiver and turned around so that he ran toward the entrance. The others pivoted and followed. "The monsters are in Veniccio. Gokuu, call Kintoun."

"Right. Kamesennin shouldn't mind." Gokuu did so. Kintoun seemed to appear beside him.

"I'll have to hold onto you, Gokuu," Kuririn said he the trio jumped onto Kintoun. "Don't let go."

"I won't." Gokuu grabbed Kuririn's hands, and Kuririn grabbed Yamcha's hands. "Kintoun, go as fast as you can to Veniccio."

* * *

Muten Roushi kicked monster after monster sideways. For every monster he kicked, five more replaced it. The monsters he had kicked recovered and charged toward him. His body was a blur as he kicked each monster.

Claire, who stood behind him and beside Mayor Need, said, "How much longer can you keep this up, Kamesennin?"

"As long as you all need protecting."

Claire's eyes softened. "That's so sweet."

Muten Roushi's face reddened, and he thrust a Shiva with his hands. The Shiva barreled into a group of monsters, bowling them over.

Buruma, Oolong, Puar, Donny, Claire, and Mayor Need huddled behind Muten Roushi. Pau watched the fight from his cave's entrance, thinking of ways he could help. He could not think of any that did not involve him becoming a burden to Muten Roushi.

Donny aimed his Classic Gun at a Sea Bat, which dove toward Muten Roushi, and shot. The bullets ricocheted off its eyes, and it reeled back. Muten Roushi grabbed its wings, slammed it into the sand, and kicked it. It disintegrated upon contact.

"I'll distract 'em for you, Kamesennin," Donny said.

"Thanks, lad."

Donny continued to shoot his Classic Gun. The monsters either stopped or slowed their pace. Muten Roushi then kicked them away, some disintegrating.

Kintoun flew out Ocean's Roar Cave. Kuririn and Yamcha released Gokuu's and Kuririn's hands respectively and landed on their feet. The trio hopped off.

"Let's try and reason with them." Monica transformed into a Himarra. She fell onto the turtle shell strapped around her shoulders. "My Himarra form must be too weak for this shell. Can one of you take it off, please?"

Kuririn ran to her. He placed his hand on the shell and propped her upright. He slid the turtle shell off.

Monica stood, the turtle shell on the ground, and stretched. "Much better. Thanks, Kuririn."

Kuririn grinned. "You're welcome." His eyes widened momentarily. He touched his earring. "I forgot I still had this on. I can understand monsters with it."

"I'll go with you," Yamcha said. "You can translate what they're saying."

"Monica, I'll keep you safe while you're in your Himarra form," Max said.

"I'll convince 'em by myself," Gokuu said. "Let's get their attention so they stop attackin' everybody." He whistled. The fighting ceased, Muten Roushi in mid-kick, and everyone looked at the five. Claire's expression brightened, Mayor Need sighed, and Donny's smile widened. The monsters charged toward the five.

The five nodded at each other and separated.

* * *

Yamcha jumped and plucked a Sea Bat from the air by the wings. Three other Sea Bats and two Mimics ran toward he and Kuririn.

"Hey, hey, listen to me! Stop!" Kuririn pushed a Mimic, and it slid backward, creating a trench in the sand.

The other Mimic jumped toward Yamcha. He placed the palms of his hands on its lid and then thrust it back. It rolled on the sand until stopping several feet from Yamcha.

The Mimic jumped onto its feet and charged toward Yamcha. "You really think we're gonna stop just 'cause you ask us to?" It lashed its tongue. Yamcha swatted the tongue, and the Mimic reeled its tongue into its mouth.

Kuririn lightly threw a Sea Bat by the wings. The Sea Bat spun through the air. It stopped beside another Sea Bat, its eyes spinning.

"Guys, we're sorry."

The monsters froze yet remained tense. They watched Kuririn and Yamcha for sudden movements.

"We know about the humans from before trying to take over your territory. We're not going to do that. We're just here to build on Veniccio, and we won't let any others build on your territory. If any humans come here and try, you get in contact with us, and we'll take care of them. Understand?"

One Mimic glared further. "You're just saying that to make us stop attacking you. Then, we'll let our guard down, and you'll take over our territory. Sorry, but we're not idiots."

The Mimic tackled Kuririn onto his back. The remaining Mimic ran to him and licked his face. The Mimic on his stomach whipped his cheeks using its tongue. Kuririn grabbed the tongues and threw the Mimics sideways. The Mimics slammed the palms of their hands onto the sand and slid to a stop.

"He's telling the truth." Yamcha crossed his arms as Sea Bats, fangs bared, dove toward him. He swayed, and the Sea Bats' fangs tore at air. "If you'd stop being so reckless for a second, you'd find out that humans aren't so bad."

The monsters continued to attack. Kuririn and Yamcha dodged and threw the monsters, but the monsters recovered and then continued their assault.

"Kuririn, let's beat them up so much that they can't move. That way, they'll be forced to listen."

"Okay. Just enough to tire them out." He thrust one fist each inside the Mimics' mouths. Before they could bite down, he punched upward. The Mimics' lids flew open, and they toppled backward.

Yamcha grabbed a Sea Bat's wings and slammed it onto the ground. The Sea Bat stilled. The other three Sea Bats dove to his shoulders and then tore at his flesh. Yamcha yelped and jumped. The Sea Bats' bit down into his shoulders and remained.

_Looks like I'll have to act like Gokuu. _Yamcha spun, he and the Sea Bats becoming shaped as though they were a tornado. After some seconds, he slowed so that they no longer spun, and he stumbled in all directions. The Sea Bats released Yamcha's shoulders, their eyes glazed, and collapsed.

The sand approached Yamcha. He placed the palm of his hand on it and pushed himself upright. Kuririn dragged the Mimics, by the hands, to the Sea Bats. He walked beside Yamcha.

Kuririn placed his hands on his hips and looked at the monsters. "All right. Now that we have your attention…" He cleared his throat.

* * *

The Corsair jumped toward Monica, who had transformed into a Himarra, its cutlasses crossed. It slashed, and its cutlasses screeched and then snapped in half against Max's hammer.

Monica winced. "Sorry you have to protect me, Max."

"Don't worry about it." Max shot his Question Shooter at a Sand Moler that was in midair. It crashed to the ground and looked around. "Go ahead and talk to the monsters."

Monica nodded. "Guys, please listen to me."

As Max shot his Question Shooter at a Zappy, which reared back with every hit, he lightly swung his hammer onto another Corsair's chest. The Corsair fell and tumbled back. Its rear stuck upward, and it twitched.

"First of all, all the humans here would like to apologize."

A Ragstink drew back its hand. A spark flashed within, and a fireball grew. Once it enveloped its hand, the Ragstink released it. Max leaned sideways. The fireball exploded against a wall near Pau's cave. The Ragstink and another of its kind spun, like ballerinas, toward Max.

"No, this isn't a joke. Yes, I know you think humans are cunning. We're really not."

Max shot each Ragstink using his Question Shooter. The Ragstinks stopped and looked around. A Sand Moler tackled Max's side, and they fell, the Sand Moler on top.

"All of the humans are apologizing to your fellow monsters right now."

Max elbowed the Sand Moler, and it was tossed into the air. It fell beside the Corsair, which stood.

"We're sorry for the other humans' greed. They wanted to build _their_ structures on _your_ territory."

The Corsair jumped toward Max, the stubs of its cutlasses crossed. The Ragstinks released fireballs. Max guarded, hiding his head behind his crossed weapons.

"We're not going to build in Ocean's Roar Cave. We assure you, we promise you that."

A Sand Moler tackled Max's back, and Max fell facedown. The Corsair slashed its cutlasses' stubs across Max's back, forming an "X". The Ragstinks' fireballs exploded against Max's back, which then erupted into flame. Max yelped and rolled back and forth.

Monica's eyes widened. She spoke quickly. "U-unlike the other humans, we're not greedy. I'm sure you all have heard about Griffon. We're restoring the past so there can be a future for monsters and humans alike."

The fire extinguished, and Max rolled onto his feet. A Zappy clapped its hands on his face twice. It flew backward, dodging his hammer. His cheeks reddened and swelled.

"Monsters and humans can coexist peacefully. Please give the humans another chance. I promise they won't build their structures in Ocean's Roar Cave."

The monsters stopped and exchanged looks. The Corsair lowered its weapons.

"We'll even give you pirates your treasure back. We really don't need it."

"Then why did you take it?"

Monica searched for a lie. "We needed to buy materials to build our structures in Veniccio, but we didn't have enough Gilda. Luckily, since we're restoring the world, the salesman, he's a Firbit by the way, decided to give some to us for free for now, but we'll have to pay him back later."

Max panted, his eyes darting to each of the monsters.

"I can go get it right now if you'd like."

The Corsair looked Monica up and down. It dropped its cutlasses and sat on them. "Okay. We won't attack while you're gone. But be quick. If you're not back here in two minutes, we attack. Got it?"

She glanced at Max. "Sure do." She ran toward Veniccio Station, the Ragstinks and Zappys crossing their arms.

* * *

A Sea Tortoise snapped its head toward Gokuu and chomped. Gokuu hopped backward.

"Hey, you kinda look like that Tortoise I fought in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. He was real easy to beat. I broke his shell and everything."

The Sea Tortoise bared its teeth. "What?"

"Oh, right. I'm supposed to be apologizin'." Gokuu jumped over the Sea Tortoise, near an Aqua Element. The Aqua Element clapped its hands on his sides, knocking the wind out of him. He whirled around and punched. The Aqua Element fell, bounced twice, and lay, motionless.

"Stay like that for a little while." His eyes widened. He swiveled around and then grabbed a Goyone's spear. He thrust the spear sideways. The Goyone slid on the sand. It hopped onto its feet and charged toward him.

A Master Jacket stabbed its sword into Gokuu's lower neck. The Goyone's spear stabbed Gokuu's stomach. He grabbed the sword and spear with one hand each and then pulled. The sword and spear slid out. He threw the monsters onto the sand.

"We're sorry for buildin' over Ocean's Roar Cave before. I wasn't around then, but we're still sorry for the humans who did it." Gokuu jumped. The Goyone's and Master Jacket's heads crashed into each other. Their eyes became cloudy, and they fell.

Another Master Jacket ran beneath Gokuu and pointed its sword upward. Gokuu unsheathed his Nyoi-bo. "Extend!" The Nyoi-bo extended so that it hovered beside the Master Jacket's sword. He swung. The sword snapped in half. He kicked the Master Jacket's torso, and it flew back. It rolled to a stop beside the Sea Tortoise, which approached Gokuu.

"We're not gonna do it again. Promise."

The Sea Tortoise stopped underneath Gokuu. Gokuu stomped on it and then landed. Its shell cracked. It froze, its eyes wide.

"Oops. Sorry about that. You can just build a new one, right?"

The Sea Tortoise looked at the ground. "No one's ever cracked my shell before. I thought I made it out of the toughest materials in Ocean's Roar Cave."

"You were right below me, and I couldn't change my direction. I had no choice but to land on your shell. But I'm sorry anyway."

A moment of silence.

"I see," the Sea Tortoise said. "It was bad judgment on my part."

"Anyway, we're just gonna build on Veniccio from now on. That way, Luna Lab'll be built in the future. We won't build over Ocean's Roar Cave. We've got enough space here."

The monsters twitched and then sat upright. The Aqua Element floated above Gokuu.

* * *

"That human's really good-looking." A Shiva lowered its staff. "Do we really have to kill him?"

Another Shiva raised its staff. "Absolutely."

A droplet of sweat rolled down Muten Roushi's temple. _Th-that monster's smitten with me._

"Do your best, Kamesennin," Claire said.

Muten Roushi blushed, a small grin appearing on his face. "I will, miss." He glanced at Max and Monica, Kuririn and Yamcha, and Gokuu, all of whom spoke to the monsters. _It looks like Gokuu and the others are trying to apologize to the monsters. _"Before you attack, can you all please hear me out?"

"Everyone, stop!" the first Shiva said.

The monsters froze. A Goyone that charged toward Muten Roushi stabbed the sand using its spear, and it stopped.

Muten Roushi raised an eyebrow. _Strange. Is she that smitten?_ "I'd like to apologize for the past humans' actions. They may have been greedy, but we definitely aren't. We're building up Veniccio again to benefit the future. We will not cross into Ocean's Roar Cave to build our structures. Once again, I apologize on behalf of the past humans."

The monsters stared at Muten Roushi.

"You're quite the smooth talker." The first Shiva raised its staff.

"You don't believe me? The other humans are apologizing as well, and they're not trying to fight with you all. We will not build anything on your territory ever again."

"A trick." A Master Jacket ran toward him, its sword raised. Muten Roushi placed two fingers around its blade, and its swing ceased.

"I know you've been tricked before, but things don't have to be like this." Muten Roushi thrust the Master Jacket, and it staggered back some feet.

The Shiva swung its staff sideways, releasing a purple orb. Muten Roushi held his forearm before his face, and the orb splattered against it.

"I promise you. All the humans promise you. We will not take over your territory."

Buruma stepped out from behind Claire. "I would've done it by now. If you all haven't noticed, I'm the one in charge of building the iron houses, the piers, anything that's needed for the future. I'm a pretty fast builder."

Muten Roushi smiled and nodded at Buruma. Buruma returned his smile. He blushed. She narrowed her eyes and stepped behind Claire.

Oolong and Puar stepped out from behind Donny, who stood behind Buruma.

"We're monsters too, y'know," Oolong said. "We trust the humans."

"And look at Gokuu," Puar said. "He isn't human, but he's still helping the humans."

The Sand Molers, Master Jackets, and Sootys looked at the Shivas. One Shiva smiled and closed her eyes.

* * *

"…and we're sorry."

The monsters bore their eyes into Kuririn's, which darted to each of theirs. He forced a smile onto his face.

A Sea Bat's wings twitched. It took to the air. "Personally, I think we can trust them."

"Oh, really?" a Mimic said. "Even after you ate the pests for the humans and they still built over Ocean's Roar Cave?"

The Sea Bat faltered, falling some feet. It regained its altitude. "I'm willing to give them another chance. Stay open, unlike you."

"I'm staying closed for a good reason."

The remaining Mimics and Sea Bats looked around. The other monsters had stopped attacking and surrounded the humans.

"Skree!" A Sea Bat's wings fluttered faster. "How interesting."

A Mimic scratched its lid. "Some of the monsters around here are pretty smart. The Shivas have a lot of life experience. I don't think they'd be tricked so easily." Darkness enveloped its features. "Unless she's fallen in love."

The Sea Bat faced the Shivas, Master Jackets, and Sand Molers. Muten Roushi stood before them. "Skree, skree! A male human's over there."

"Just as I thought."

Kuririn raised his hands. "Don't attack. I've already given you so many reasons why we're not gonna build over Ocean's Roar Cave. I know we've done a lot of bad things in the past, but you've gotta believe us."

The monsters and humans stared at each other for some seconds.

"If this were a trick," a Mimic said, "I don't think they'd be so desperate."

The monsters continued to stare at Kuririn and Yamcha. Yamcha forced himself to not clench his hands.

"All right." The Mimic sighed. "We believe you."

* * *

Monica, in human form, dragged the treasure down the pier and onto the beach, where Max and the monsters waited.

"Phew." She wiped her brow and transformed into a Himarra.

The Corsair walked to the treasure. It thrust the lid open. A golden light illuminated its face.

The Corsair's jaw dropped. "Every Gilda and Zeni is here." It looked at Max and Monica, wide-eyed.

After some seconds of the Corsair staring at Max and Monica, Monica said, "Are you all right?"

"I-I'm just thinking, you killed one of our Captains, and then you show up with our treasure. And you're willing to give it back. We're taking it, by the way." It closed the lid, gripped the chest's sides, and hoisted it.

A Ragstink dropped onto its feet. "I think they're trustworthy. Would they really go through all this trouble just to play a trick on us?"

The other Ragstink hovered beside the Corsair. "If they wanted to build on our territory again."

Monica smirked and placed a leaf-hand on her hip. "I hate to say this, but we could defeat you easily in a one-on-one fight. We wouldn't need to trick you at all."

The Ragstink glared for a split second. "Well, that blond human did fight us off pretty easily." It looked at its body. "Either that, or I'm gaining weight."

Monica chuckled. "I don't think that's why. Sorry to insult you all."

"It's okay." The Ragstink landed. It exchanged looks with the other monsters, which nodded. "We believe you."

* * *

The Aqua Element floated to Gokuu so that its face was inches from his. It stared into Gokuu's eyes.

"What?"

"Just making sure you aren't lying. If your eyes waver while you talk, that probably means you're lying." It narrowed its eyes and frowned further. "But you're not. Your eyes are steady." It paused. "Nor do I see any tears. If you truly regretted your actions, you'd be crying."

"There's nothin' to cry over."

It scowled. "Yes, there is. You nearly took over our territory."

"I didn't. The humans from before did, and we're not them. We don't have any reason to build over Ocean's Roar Cave. We've got plenty of space in Veniccio."

The Aqua Element bore its eyes into Gokuu's. It growled and floated backward. It looked at the other monsters, which stared at it. Some blinked.

"I'm glad you guys are so much help."

The Sea Tortoise looked Gokuu up and down. Gokuu stared at the Sea Tortoise. He then looked at the other monsters, which also studied him.

_The one who killed my brethren. _"Why did you kill him?"

"Who? That other Tortoise?"

The Sea Tortoise nodded.

Gokuu placed a finger to his chin. "Well, I was askin' for help, then I told him we were gonna fight. I kicked him, and he died."

The Sea Tortoise ground its teeth. "You _told _him… You didn't give him a choice in the matter. You told him, didn't give him a chance to defend himself, and killed him." It moved as fast as it could toward Gokuu.

"Yeah. I'm always looking for a good fight. I thought he could put up one. And he did have a chance to defend himself. He was just too slow."

The Sea Tortoise's shell fell on both sides. Its eyes widened. "N-no." It glared at Gokuu. "This is your fault."

"But you wouldn't move when I was fallin' toward you."

The Sea Tortoise whipped its head toward the sea. "It's always the humans' faults. It'd be better if they were gone. I wish, I wish whoever exterminated you all the first time would return and repeat the process."'

The Sea Tortoise shook. It collapsed and wheezed. It coughed for some seconds. It paled, its head lolling to the side, and disintegrated.

Gokuu and the monsters stared at the spot in which the Sea Tortoise had disintegrated. He glanced at the monsters, whose jaws were slack. "Hey, you guys know what just happened?"

The monsters continued to stare. The Aqua Element glared at Gokuu. "If you were ruthless then"—it narrowed its eyes—"then you're ruthless now." It and the other monsters charged toward him.

"I'm not gonna fight you guys." Gokuu jumped high into the air. He cupped his hands over his mouth to project his voice. "I'm sorry for the humans from before, I'm sorry for killing the Tortoise in Rainbow Butterfly Wood, and I'm sorry for killing the Tortoise just now. I won't do it again. The other humans won't, either."

He began to fall. The Master Jackets gathered below him, pointing their swords upward. He thrust himself upside-down and reached. He gripped the swords' blades and then bent backward. He snapped them in half. He landed on his feet before the Master Jackets.

The Aqua Element floated behind him and then clapped its hands on his neck. Gokuu lost his breath, and his eyes lost their color. He fell facedown and twitched.

One Master Jacket ran to Gokuu and thrust the stub of its blade toward his heart. The Aqua Element grabbed its hand.

"What're you—?"

"Wait."

"But we don't know if he's dead yet. I'm trying to make sure he is."

"He didn't look like he was lying before. Let's give the humans another chance. I know that this human doesn't look like he has any redeeming qualities, what with him killing another Tortoise just because he wanted to fight, but he tried to apologize. And he seemed sincere." It smiled. "This batch of humans doesn't seem as bad as the other batch." Its smile widened. "Besides, I'd like to see what they're doing first-hand. See what their true intentions are."

"Y-you're not thinking of…"

The Aqua Element nodded. "Water is the most basic life-form. I should be able to fit in without being detected." It aimed itself at Gokuu's heart. Then, it launched itself toward him. When it reached his body, it sunk into it, appearing to become a puddle. It seemed to melt into Gokuu's body.

Gokuu twitched. He stood. "Yeah, we're sorry for the humans from before. We promise we'll never build over Ocean's Roar Cave again." He furrowed his brows. "What're you all lookin' so confused for? And wasn't there a teardrop here a second ago?"

"It's in you," the Master Jacket said. "The teardrop is in your body. He's going to watch you from now on. Make sure you always do right."

Gokuu looked at his torso. "It fused with me?" He grinned. "Does that mean I'm stronger?"

The Master Jacket gritted its teeth. The remainder of the monsters glared and groaned.

"No. He's just…examining you. He'll come out whenever he's satisfied and come back here, and he'll tell us all about your true intentions."

A puddle appeared near Gokuu's heart. The puddle exfoliated itself, and it became a teardrop with hands. The hands pushed the remainder of the teardrop out. The Aqua Element floated above Gokuu and the monsters.

It grinned. "Clear as water inside. I trust him."

The Master Jacket sheathed its stub. "Well, that confirms it. He's not lying."

Gokuu frowned further. "What made you think I was lying before?"

The monsters stared at him. Some turned their attention to the sea. A Master Jacket scratched its head.

The Aqua Element crossed its hands. "Seems like he's not bright enough to lie."

* * *

"I believe him."

The monsters became bug-eyed. Some gasped.

The Shiva opened its eyes and gazed into Muten Roushi's own. "I haven't heard any noise around us for a little while. It seems that the other monsters believe your fellow humans as well. An Aqua Element was fighting one of the humans, and they have their ways of finding out whether or not someone is lying. Now, if he stopped attacking, that means that the humans are not tricking us."

The humans and monsters looked around. All fighting had ceased, and the remainder of the humans and monsters smiled at each other. Some of their smiles twitched.

A Sand Moler narrowed its eyes. "Hey, some of them don't seem too sure about trusting the humans."

"Did you expect them to trust the humans so soon?"

The Sand Moler dug itself farther underground. "Good point."

"I believe the humans completely, but it'll take a while for the other monsters to come around." The Shiva smiled at Muten Roushi. "I accept your apology, and the monsters who don't now will later, once time passes, and if you don't build your structures in Ocean's Roar Cave."

The other Shiva crawled forward. "I also accept your apology."

"And I," the Master Jacket said.

The remainder of the monsters accepted his apology.

"Thank you," Muten Roushi said. "You'll still see the humans running through Ocean's Roar Cave, but that's only because they need to go to Shigura Village for Shigura medicine. Also, some of them may ask you for a spar. They won't kill you. They're trying to become stronger, and they think you monsters can give them a good fight."

The Master Jacket raised its sword. "We'll give them one."

The Shiva's expression further softened. "We'll see you around Ocean's Roar Cave, then."

"Yes," Muten Roushi said.

"We'll return to our territory. Once again, thank you for the apology."

The monsters turned, waving at Muten Roushi. He and the group gathered behind him returned their waves. The monsters walked toward Ocean's Roar Cave. The remainder of the monsters, after saying their goodbyes to the humans, followed. The humans watched the monsters disappear into Ocean's Roar Cave.

* * *

Max and Monica exhaled. Monica transformed into a human and then equipped the turtle shell. She and Max, who applied Dr. Dell's medicine to his wounds, looked around.

"Looks like everyone finished their apologies, too," Monica said. "Thank goodness."

Max and Monica ran to Kuririn and Yamcha, who both stretched.

Kuririn grinned. "You all finished too."

"Sure did." Monica scratched the side of her face with one finger. "Sorry for making you protect me, Max."

"Anything for the good of the future. Besides, we won't have to fight them again unless we ask."

Monica's eyes lit up. "That's right." She looked at the sky. "Let me think. The monsters in Starlight Canyon won't attack us. The monsters in Ocean's Roar Cave won't attack us. The only monsters that still hate us are in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. That's all we have to worry about."

"Think we'll have to go back there?"

"Remember those star gates we saw? I have a feeling they'll be important soon."

Max visualized the gates that surrounded the exits in Rainbow Butterfly Wood and Starlight Canyon. "Maybe."

Gokuu skidded to a stop before them. After panting for some seconds, he grinned. "My monsters went back in Ocean's Roar Cave. They forgive us."

Kuririn returned the grin. "Ours too, buddy."

"And Muten Roushi's." Yamcha pointed at Muten Roushi and the remainder of the group near the piers. The five ran to them.

"I watched your fights," Muten Roushi said.

Kuririn's jaw dropped. "Even while fighting your own?"

"Yes. It's not hard to train your peripheral vision, but that's a lesson for another day. You all did a great job, especially with those shells."

Kuririn eyed his shell. "Actually, I forgot I had this on."

"So did I," Max said.

"That's good," Muten Roushi said. "That means you're getting stronger. A few more days with that size on, then you'll get an upgrade."

Mayor Need stepped out from behind Muten Roushi. "While I was watching you all fight, I saw some fish monsters with legs that looked like they raced toward you. That gave me an idea for another fishing event for Palm Brinks."

Max's face brightened while Monica's face darkened.

"Wow, another one," Max said.

"No one ever got the chance to participate in the first because of Griffon's attack, but I think I'll alternate between the Fishing Contest and the Finny Frenzy."

"Is 'Finny Frenzy' the name of the new event?"

"Yes. I think it'll be a fish race. I'll return to Palm Brinks soon and tell Morton. If he likes it, which I'm sure he will, we'll set it up as soon as possible."

"I'm looking forward to it, Mayor Need."

Claire looked at the sky, which glowed orange. The evening sun illuminated Veniccio. "It's almost my bedtime. I'll be inside." She entered the red house.

"I think it's time I got some proper shut-eye around here," Donny said. "And by proper, I mean no interruptions. 'Night, everyone." He entered the blue house.

"Might as well get some sleep," Buruma said. "So, no more monsters running over here and attacking us, right?"

"Right," Monica said. "As long as nothing happens to mess that up, it'll stay that way."

"Good. I'll be getting some rest too, then. Have a good night." She entered the green house.

"Will you all stay awake a little longer?" Muten Roushi said.

"We'll do some stretching," Yamcha said, "then we'll head in."

"Okay. Good night." Muten Roushi walked toward Pau's cave. Oolong and Puar said their good nights and followed.

Pau, who stood in his cave's entrance, clapped Muten Roushi on the shoulder. "Good job. Every day, you prove to me that humans really aren't that bad." He waved to the five, who returned the wave. He followed Muten Roushi, Oolong, and Puar into his cave.

Before the five could begin to stretch, an orb of light appeared some feet above them. Their jaws slackened. Monica placed a hand on her Dusack's hilt.

"What an amazing display of compassion." Its voice was childlike, soft.

The five stared at the orb. Monica's hand fell off her Dusack's hilt.

"I am one of the many Terra Fairies in this world. We have all been watching you three—" Three fingers emerged from it and pointed at Max, Monica, and Gokuu, and Monica's eyes widened farther—"and we have seen you fight against the odds repeatedly. You all are awe-inspiring.

"A long time ago, when the monsters were not as fierce, we would set certain conditions for each floor of each dungeon. For example, Maximilian—"

Max straightened and blinked twice.

"—if you caught a fish that was, say, seventy centimeters, we would reward you with a medal. If you defeated all monsters on a floor without healing, you would be awarded with a medal. Your making friends with monsters has been amazing to witness, both in Starlight Canyon and here. You all like to settle things without violence when violence is not necessary. Son Gokuu, you enjoy fighting, but your intentions are pure. You do not wish to become stronger solely for physical strength, but you wish to continue to fight so that you can become strong enough to protect those you love."

"I've never thought about fighting like that."

"On the conscious level, no. But your subconscious mind causes you to fight as often as possible in order to protect."

"What's the conscious and the subconscious?"

The Terra Fairy giggled. "It is not necessary for you to know." It rose a little ways higher. "The Terra Fairies were very impressed with your apologizing to the monsters. What you have done today will affect Veniccio for centuries to come. The humans and monsters will not attack each other, neither here nor in Balance Valley and Starlight Canyon, saving millions of lives. They now have no reason to distrust each other. For that, we would like to reward you with medals."

"Medals?" Max said.

"They are made of pure gold. If you sold them, you would obtain much Gilda."

Yamcha's eyes twinkled, and his tongue lolled out the corner of his mouth.

"I think Mayor Need collects them," Max said. "He might be able to sell them to help make money for Palm Brinks."

Yamcha's body sunk. "So we should give these medals to him instead of keeping them for ourselves."

"Right."

Yamcha released a heavy sigh. "The pirate's treasure's gone and now the medals. Two treasures in one day." He looked at the Terra Fairy. "Unless you have some conditions in dungeons that I can fulfill."

"Yes. We can place our conditions in Ocean's Roar Cave."

Yamcha grinned and rubbed his hands together.

"Usually, when humans entered floors, we would inform them of the condition that must be met in order to obtain a medal. However, we have neglected to tell you humans about it. In the time following Griffon's extermination, hardly any humans have entered the dungeons. The humans who somehow survived and entered the dungeons never came out. We did not have much faith in you. But you have proven to us repeatedly that humans are strong physically and mentally. For that, we will award you sixty-five medals."

White smoke puffed before the Terra Fairy. A black box floated in its place.

"This is a Medal Holder. As the title explains, it holds medals."

More white smoke puffed, and in its place floated a stack of medals. The medals flew into the Medal Holder. The Medal Holder snapped shut and then floated to Max.

"It is yours."

Max slid it into his pouch. "Thanks, Miss Terra Fairy."

"No, thank you. You humans have surprised us many times, and we look forward to your surprises in the future. If you would like, we can tell you about the conditions for medals in each floor from now on."

Monica shook her head. "No, that's all right. They would slow us down, and we need to get to Griffon as soon as possible."

"Good point," Yamcha said. "I'll come back after we defeat Griffon and fulfill the conditions."

Monica smiled. "You all will come with us and help us defeat Griffon?"

"Yup," Kuririn said. "Not only is it good for training, but it's good to increase our chances of saving the world."

"That's great. We need as many allies as we can get."

"We would still like to give you something for your efforts, though," the Terra Fairy said. "For each dungeon you complete, we will give you medals. The number depends on how well we believe your performance was."

"But we're going to beat up Griffon after we finish Ocean's Roar Cave," Gokuu said. "The guys at Luna Lab should've figured out a way for us to get back to his time by now."

"It is not as clear cut as that. You still have a long road ahead. Good luck!" The Terra Fairy flew into the sky. The orb disappeared into a cloud.

Max's eyes twinkled. "Wow, amazing. Monica, did you know about these Terra Fairies?"

"I've heard about them in fairy tales. I've never seen them, though."

"What do you think she meant by 'It's not as clear cut as that?'" Gokuu said.

"Griffon's doubting himself. I've explained why multiple times before. We'll probably figure everything out when we meet him face-to-face."

Max raised the Medal Holder. "Let's give these medals to Mayor Need."

The five ran to the purple house, and Max knocked on the door.

"Come in."

The five entered. Mayor Need sat on his bed, a letter in hand. A pile of letters sat beside him. He placed the letter on top of the pile and walked to the five.

Max held the Medal Holder toward Mayor Need. "A Terra Fairy gave us some medals."

Mayor Need stepped back. "A-aTerra Fairy? I thought those only existed in fairy tales."

"So did I." Monica explained their encounter with the Terra Fairy.

"You deserve them for all your hard work."

"We'd like to give them to you," Max said. "We don't need them. We get plenty of Gilda from the monsters we defeat."

Mayor Need took the Medal Holder. He peered inside and counted the medals. "W-wow, sixty-five. That's a lot of medals. I'd feel terrible if I didn't give you something in return."

Yamcha's eyes began to twinkle.

"It's really not necessary," Monica said.

Yamcha narrowed his eyes at her.

"No, I insist."

Yamcha grinned from ear to ear.

"I have a selection of clothes for you."

Yamcha's body sunk.

"Follow me." Mayor Need led the five to a closet and opened it. Inside were a clown's outfit, a ticket, a princess outfit, at which Monica gawked, and a fur bikini, at which Kuririn blushed.

Monica pointed at the princess outfit. "That's the exact same outfit I usually wear in my kingdom."

"Really? I found it lying in Palm Brinks' park during the circus night."

"I must've dropped it somehow when I came here. Maybe when I transformed into a boy."

Kuririn and Yamcha furrowed their brows.

"I have no use for it, so here, take it." Mayor Need gave Monica the princess outfit, and she deposited it in her pouch.

"Thank you. Mother wouldn't be very happy if she found out that I lost one of my outfits." She placed a hand on the back of her head. "It's pretty expensive."

"How expensive?" Yamcha said.

Monica's face reddened. "Oh, about 120,000 Gilda, give or take a few."

Kuririn's face fell.

Yamcha studied the princess outfit. "Why on earth…?"

"Well, the tailor in Jurak Mall custom-makes all my outfits with some of the finest fabrics in the world." She eyed Max. "Since Adel lives in Rainbow Butterfly Wood, I think it's safe to say that her descendent or successor is the one who will make my outfits from now on. Now, don't get me wrong. Mother insists that all my outfits be custom-made. I'd rather be a bit more practical and get something cheaper at a store. She says she doesn't want the princess looking like she's poor, but really, who cares?"

Yamcha coughed. He looked in the closet and blushed.

"Wh-wh-what about that, Mayor Need?" Kuririn pointed at the bikini.

Mayor Need scratched the back of his head. "W-well, that and the clown outfit were gifts from one of the citizens for Claire's last birthday, but she didn't want them. She said that she wouldn't ever need to wear them since she's never felt any impulse to dress like a clown and she'd never go to the beach. But look, we're at the beach."

"She might want the swimsuit now," Monica said.

"I doubt it. She doesn't like to get dirty and, to her, the sea water might be dirty. In exchange for these medals, I'll give you the swimsuit."

"She's never felt the water before, has she? I'm sure it'd be a great experience for her. After all, she did come with us inside Ocean's Roar Cave so she could see the monsters."

"And she did dunk her head in Palm Brinks' lake with Max a long time ago."

"Yeah, I remember that," Max said.

Mayor Need examined the bikini: Cat bells hung at its neckline and, above the neckline, hung cat ears. "I don't think she'd want to look like a cat while swimming. Does Jurak Mall sell swimsuits?"

"Yeah."

"We'll go there one day, and I'll let her pick one out. If you'd like, it's yours."

"Sure, why not?" Monica looked at her clothes. "It'd be strange swimming in this outfit."

Mayor Need gave her the bikini. She deposited it in her pouch.

Kuririn turned his head to the wall so that the others would not see his grin. _Muten Roushi will be very happy._

"Do any of you want the clown outfit?"

"I'll take it," Max said.

"Here you go." Mayor Need took the clown costume off the hanger, folded it, and placed it in Max's hands.

Max saw the group's furrowed brows as he deposited the costume in his pouch. "If we find any more clown monsters, they might help us if I'm in this outfit."

"That's right," Monica said. "In Rainbow Butterfly Wood... Great thinking, Max." She looked out the window. "Let's head in Pau's cave and get some rest. Tomorrow, we go to Shigura Village."

"Good luck, you all," Mayor Need said.

The five said their goodbyes to Mayor Need and then left the house. A blue aura surrounded Monica's Platinum Brassard, and a blue light illuminated her and Max's pouches.

"Hey, our weapons are ready to be leveled up. Max, let's strengthen our weapons in Pau's cave."

"Okay."

The five ran inside Pau's cave. Max and Monica sat across from each other on the floor, beside a sleeping Shingala. They synthesized numerous crystals with their weapons until a shield blocked crystals from being synthesized. Their weapons began to glow green.

Max grinned. "All right. They're ready to be built up."

A green light enveloped their weapons. After some seconds, the light disappeared, revealing their new weapons. Max's Cubic Hammer had become a Digi Hammer, which, at the end of the handle, protruded blue rings attached with gray, thick, unbendable wires. His Question Shooter had become a Steal Gun, a blue, gray, and purple gun with a nozzle resembling a satellite dish at its end.

_Looks like its nozzle isn't large enough for it to absorb beams. _Max turned the Steal Gun over in his hands. He saw the second trigger on its bottom. _Good, I can still use the charge attack with it. _He frowned. _I wonder if this can make monsters confused like my Question Shooter could._

Monica's Dusack had been built up into a Claymore, whose hilt was black, blade was white, and handles were red. She stood and swung it twice. _Whoa, it's heavy. _

Her Platinum Brassard had transformed into a Destruction Brassard, a thick, gray armband adorned with red drawings on its front. The drawings resembled a man raising an object—Monica was unable to recognize it—and two crosses on either side of him.

"Those weapons look mighty strong," Kuririn said. "We should be able to fight whatever might be waiting for us at Shigura Village." He glanced at his shell. "Especially with our training."

Monica nodded, smiling at her weapons. "Definitely."


	48. Shigura Village

**Chapter Forty-eight: Shigura Village**

As the five ran through Ocean's Roar Cave's shore, the monsters, who watched the sun rise, smiled and waved. The five returned their greetings. Some monsters stopped the five and thanked them for their apology and for not placing any buildings in Ocean's Roar Cave.

"If you ever need any help," a Geron said, "I'm here for you."

Monica bowed. "Thank you. We'll keep that in mind."

The five soon arrived at Shigura Village, their faces pink. They panted and looked around. Shigura Village was similar to Veniccio in appearance: sandy beach; light blue, clear ocean. Creatures resembling Shingala, yet bigger and differently colored, were scattered throughout, conversing with each other. Three Shigura children chased each other in a circle before two taller, brown Shigura.

Kuririn's eyes darted to each of the Shigura. "I wonder if Shigura are violent."

Monica visualized a bloody Pau staggering out Ocean's Roar Cave. "Boy, I sure hope not." She glanced at the turtle shell on her back. "With these shells on? No, that fight definitely would not go over well."

"Which ones do you think we should talk with?" Max said.

"Who knows?" Monica clenched a hand into a fist and smiled wryly. "Let's try them all one by one."

The five ran to the closest Shigura. Max, Monica, and Gokuu placed the Shell Talkies upon their ears. Gokuu looked at Monica.

"You think I need this? I can understand monsters, you know."

Yamcha gestured toward himself. "Give it to me, then."

Gokuu did so. Yamcha placed it upon his ear. Kuririn tapped his earring.

"Welcome to Shigura Village." The Shigura's voice was deep, and it caused the five's stomachs to vibrate. Kuririn gritted his teeth and stepped back, his forehead breaking out into sweat.

"Large fella, aren't you?"

"Do not be intimidated. We are not prone to violence like monsters are."

A droplet of sweat rolled down Kuririn's temple. He reclaimed his place beside Gokuu.

"Please enjoy your stay here. Also, please stay quiet." The Shigura glanced at the three Shigura children roughhousing with each other. "It does not appear like it, but we are resting, and we enjoy peace and quiet while we do so. We have just returned from a long journey across the sea. We will set out once more in a few days."

Monica watched the other Shigura, which continued to converse with one another. "It looks like you guys are pretty used to humans. Do you all see them a lot?"

"We see them sometimes, but we do not interact with them. Many of them believe we are monsters and that we will try to attack them. Because many humans cannot understand our tongue, they run in fear, even though we try to tell them that we mean no harm. Some have even attacked us, and we have had to leave their territories because of their fear of us."

As the Shigura spoke, Max looked around. The three Shigura children headbutted and lightly scratched each other, grunting and roaring, the sun illuminating their faces. At the front of the beach, a Shigura adult stood beside a tan Shigura that was an inch shorter than the remainder of the Shigura adults.

Max turned toward the Shigura he stood before as it said, "However, we have hardly seen any humans during our past fifteen migrations. I remember a great flash of light fifteen years ago. Ever since that light, we have seen only a handful of humans. We have no idea what happened to them."

"It's a long story," Monica said. "We're kinda in a hurry, so we can't spare you the details right now. Do you all have Shigura medicine?"

"Of course. We must be prepared during our long journey. Our village elder—" He nodded toward the short, tan Shigura—"keeps the medicine. What do you need it for?"

"A Shigura child got separated from your tribe about a month ago. He has a gash on his neck, and we need the medicine to heal it."

The Shigura frowned. "I never noticed a Shigura child go missing."

"After we give him this medicine," Max said, "we'll be sure to bring him back." A picture of Pau rubbing his head against Shingala's head flashed in his mind. _I'm sure Pau'll be pretty sad._

"Thank goodness you know where he is. The village elder is at the front of the beach. Best of luck to you."

The five bowed and thanked the Shigura. They ran to the village elder, and Max, Monica, and Yamcha placed the Shell Talkies upon their ears.

"I am Buru, the Shigura tribe elder." The elder's voice was somewhat higher than the previous Shigura's voice, but the five's stomach's vibrated.

Kuririn placed a hand on his stomach. _I never thought I'd be able to get a stomachache without eating anything._

"I see you have already gotten acquainted with a member of my tribe." His eyes moved over the five slowly. "We rarely see humans here. In fact, we have seen hardly any humans since the flash fifteen years ago. Also, do not worry about the monsters in Ocean's Roar Cave. This is a secluded area, and not many monsters know about it. Now, what is it you want?"

"Well…" Max looked the Shigura up and down, his mouth agape. _I didn't know Shigura could get this big. I didn't know creatures this big existed. _He smiled, and his eyes twinkled. _This whole journey, it's been amazing. _He glanced at the remainder of the group, all of whom stared at him, Monica's eyebrows raised.

"Max, are you okay?" Monica said.

"Yeah. Just, I never realized all the different things that are in this world. There are talking owls, forests and oceans larger than I ever could've imagined, all types of monsters and, even though the monsters usually attack us, there's something awesome about that, too."

He grinned at Gokuu. "We've even met someone like Gokuu. I'm not quite sure whether he's a monster or a human, but whatever he is, I've never seen anyone with his sort of strength." He looked at Kuririn and Yamcha. "And who knew there was a whole school dedicated to becoming stronger physically?" He eyed the turtle shell on his back. "And this shell, I didn't know things so heavy existed." He smiled at the tribe elder. "And now, we've seen creatures called Shigura. It's just amazing how rich the world really is."

Monica's, Kuririn's, and Yamcha's expressions softened. Gokuu blinked.

"I'm so glad I went on this journey. Not only have I seen all sorts of places and creatures, but I've also met some great people and made amazing friends."

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha grinned. Kuririn placed a hand on the back of his head. Monica's smile broadened.

"Thanks, Max." Monica looked around. _Maybe I ought to look at things the way he does, see all the little things, the little details. Even though the reasons for this journey are so grim, he manages to find joy in it. If I look at things the way Max does, maybe I'll enjoy life a whole lot more. _"A little curiosity can go a long way."

"You two are pretty awesome people," Yamcha said. "Not to sound too sappy, but I'm glad I met you, too. It's nice to know a girl other than Buruma."

Kuririn smirked. "Just in case your and Buruma's relationship doesn't work out?"

Yamcha's face became crimson. His head snapped toward Kuririn. "Where's your girlfriend?"

Monica stifled a laugh.

"I like to keep my options open." He glanced at Monica.

Monica's smile disappeared, and she raised her hands. "Hey, I'm not looking for anyone right now. Maybe later, after this whole Griffon thing's dealt with."

Kuririn blushed. "U-um, I'm not looking for anyone either right now." He scratched his cheek.

Monica smiled wryly. "I know how teenage boys' minds work. They think about girls all the time." She narrowed her eyes. "I think Oolong's a teenager too, based on the way he looks at me."

A smile crept onto Kuririn's face. _I don't think she wants to know how Muten Roushi-sama thinks of her._

"I'm a teenager," Max said, "and I don't think about girls all the time."

"And it might've been my birthday a few days ago," Gokuu said. "I think I'm fourteen now, so I'm a teenager, and I don't think about girls all the time, either."

"You two are quite the exceptions," Monica said. "No offense." She furrowed her brows. "And, Gokuu, what do you it 'might've' been your birthday?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure when my birthday is, or was. Let's see, we started this journey a real long time ago, like, a lot of months ago, and I met Grampa a lot of months ago, so my birthday had to have passed." He grinned. "I know for sure that fourteen comes after twelve."

Monica's shoulders slumped. "Thirteen comes after twelve, Gokuu. We really ought to figure out when your birthday is one day. And teach you how to count. But we've gotten way off-topic. Let's get this medicine for Shingala."

"That's right. We gotta be polite, too." Gokuu clapped his hands and bowed. "Please, Mr. Shigura elder, sir. Can you please give us some Shigura medicine?"

"Thank you for asking so politely. May I ask what you need it for?"

"A Shigura named Shingala. He's got this cut on his neck, and we need some Shigura medicine to heal it."

"A Shigura named Shingala. Our tribe never had a Shigura named Shingala."

"Pau named him Shingala."

Buru frowned.

"Pau's a Moon Person," Monica said. "He found Shingala a little while ago, and he's taking care of him."

"Ah, I see. Please, thank this Pau when you next see him." He shook his head. "If I cannot keep track of all the members of my tribe, I must truly be getting old."

"You don't look that old, sir." Kuririn's smile faltered. _Then again, I've never seen other Shigura before._

Buru chuckled. "Thank you, but you do not have to compliment me to persuade me to give you Shigura medicine."

Monica eyed Kuririn. Kuririn placed a hand on the back of his head.

"W-well, it didn't hurt to try. Y'know, just in case these guys decided to attack us."

"I don't think compliments would've helped in the midst of a fight."

"Take this." Buru lowered his head before Max. He uncurled his lips. Medicine that appeared to be contained in an orange foil was clenched between his teeth. He lowered his jaw, and the medicine rolled out. Max grabbed it. After the five examined the Secret Dragon Remedy for some moments, Max deposited it in his pouch. The five thanked Buru.

"No, thank you for caring for my lost Shigura. I wish you the best of luck."

The five returned to Pau's cave, in which the remainder of the group resided. Max ran beside Shingala and opened the wrapper. Inside was a white liquid.

"Looks kinda like Dr. Dell's medicine," Max said.

Monica placed a hand on her chin. "I wonder…"

He tilted the container toward his fingers. The liquid poured out quickly. Once Max's fingers were damp, he rubbed them on Shingala's gash. After some seconds, the gash became enveloped in a green orb.

Shingala whined. His body relaxed as the orb disappeared, and he smiled.

"Wow, just like Dr. Dell's medicine," Gokuu said.

"Shingala, you feeling better?" Pau said.

Shingala opened his eyes. His smile broadened, and he nodded. He nudged Max's chest with his head, and Max stumbled back. Then, he nuzzled Max's body. Max rubbed Shingala's head.

"Thank you so much for healing Shingala," Pau said. "His wound would've gotten much worse if you all hadn't come to help."

"It wasn't a problem," Yamcha said.

Shingala nuzzled Gokuu. Gokuu's expression remained neutral. Afterwards, he nuzzled Monica, and she laughed.

"Th-that tickles." She rubbed his head. "H-hey."

Shingala nuzzled the remainder of the group, save Buruma, who ran against the wall so that Shingala was unable to reach her. Shingala cocked his head, sadness crossing his features, and Pau glared at her.

"I just took a bath. And that huge monster might knock me over, get my clothes dirty."

Pau's eyebrows slanted further downward as Yamcha sighed heavily.

"Shingala's not a monster."

Buruma examined Shingala. "Mmm-hm."

"I really wonder about you humans sometimes. I really do."

"Nice choice for a girlfriend," Kuririn said.

Yamcha gritted his teeth, and his body shook. "Where's…_your_…girlfriend…?"

"I don't want one, the way yours is acting." His eyes widened. He looked at the ceiling. "Whoever's out there, I didn't mean that."

The group heard a rumbling noise, and the cave quaked. Buruma placed her hand against the wall to steady herself. Puar gripped Yamcha's shoulder. Oolong hugged Max's ankle. A grin spread across Puar's face.

"He's closest to me, okay?" Oolong said.

"Don't tell me it's…" Monica ran out the cave. The group exchanged looks and then followed, Shingala sliding behind them.

A battleship flew out from behind Pau's cave and crossed the sea.

Monica gasped. "Gaspard."

"They're heading towards Shigura Village," Max said. "Don't tell me they're planning to attack."

The battleship disappeared over the horizon. Monica balled her hands into fists. "I'm sure they are. Especially after what they did to Crest and the lighthouse."

Pau and Shingala were the last to arrive outside.

"What's going on?" Pau said.

Monica looked at the group behind them. "All of you, get back inside." She glared at the horizon. "Max, Gokuu, and I'll take care of this."

Kuririn gestured toward himself and Yamcha. "You forgot about us."

Monica smiled. "Right."

"What?" Pau stepped forward. "But—"

"Just do it. You don't want Shingala to get hurt again, do you?"

Kuririn visualized the Geron hitting his crotch, becoming wed to the Auntie Medusa, and her snakes' fangs embedded in his ankles. _I certainly don't._

Pau sighed. "O-okay."

Buruma placed a hand on her hip. "What were you planning on doing, anyway?"

"I don't know, but I was going to help in any way I could. I owe you guys for getting that medicine." Pau shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know who you guys are fighting, but I still want to help."

"To be honest," Yamcha said, "you'd get in our way. You can't fight, can you?"

Pau shook his head.

"We appreciate the thought, though," Monica quickly said.

"Let's ride on Kintoun so we're not tired by the time we get there," Max said.

Gokuu turned to Muten Roushi. "Kamesennin, is it okay if I ride Kintoun?"

"Yes. It's an emergency, after all."

Gokuu called Kintoun. Within a nanosecond, Kintoun floated beside him. The trio climbed on. Kuririn gripped Gokuu's hand, and Yamcha grabbed Kuririn's hand. Kintoun sped toward Shigura Village.

* * *

Once it arrived at Shigura Village, Kintoun lowered itself near the sand. Kuririn and Yamcha released Gokuu's hand and Kuririn's hand respectively, and they landed on their feet. The trio hopped off. Max and Gokuu waved as it sped away, Gokuu saying, "Thanks, Kintoun."

Kuririn pointed in different directions. "G-g-guys, those Shigura, they look like Shingala did that time."

"What are you talkin' about?" Gokuu looked around. "Oh."

Four Shigura slid toward them, their eyes tainted red, blue devices on their heads.

Yamcha took a battle stance. "They might be trying to attack. What do we do?"

"Don't attack them," Monica said. "Maybe you guys can pull the devices off."

"The other Shigura might attack if we do that. We won't have time to pull even one of them off with other three distracting us."

The Shigura surrounded the group and glared at them. After some seconds of the Shigura staring at the group, Yamcha said, "They're staying still?"

The five turned toward laughing emanating from the battleship, which hovered above the sea, waves below scattering. A platform flew off and then stopped above the Shigura. Dr. Jaming and a microphone stood on it. He strummed a guitar, and its sound echoed throughout the beach.

"How do you like my improved invention, the Marionette? I was experimenting with it in Rainbow Butterfly Wood and when I put it on that Shigura calf." He smirked, his front teeth protruding, at Max. "Your bright lights won't distract them." He glared at Gokuu. "And your martial arts won't be able to get the device off."

"We pulled the device off, smart guy," Yamcha said.

Dr. Jaming growled and strummed the guitar faster. "I _know_ what you did! I was watching, idiots. I had to make sure my device worked, after all."

Monica gripped her Claymore's hilt. Her knuckles whitened. "So, you were the one who made Shingala attack Pau. Pau was almost killed because of you." Her body shook.

"Pau? That Moon Person, you mean?" Dr. Jaming cackled. "That was a lot of fun."

"You made Pau worry so much," Max said. "He was willing to risk his life for Shingala, and you were having fun?"

Dr. Jaming's cackle increased in volume. "Yes, I had a lot of fun, little boy. More than you can imagine. And I'll have fun making my Shigura toy with you for a while." He strummed faster.

The five faced the Shigura.

"So, what do we do?" Kuririn said.

Gokuu glared at Dr. Jaming. "Monica, you have anythin' against that guy?"

"Of course. He almost killed Pau and hurt Shingala even more by controlling him." Monica's smirk broadened. "Go for him, Gokuu."

Gokuu bent his knees.

"Hold on a sec, Gokuu," Max said. "What if he has some kind of shield?"

"I'll find out in a sec." Gokuu leaped toward Dr. Jaming. A Shigura swung its head toward him. Gokuu gripped the sides of the Shigura's head and then flipped on top of the device. He jumped toward Dr. Jaming. The Shigura flicked its head into Gokuu's back. The speed of Gokuu's flight increased.

"Thanks. That helped." Gokuu neared Dr. Jaming and outstretched a leg. The platform began to move in a circle. Gokuu flew past the platform and fell into the sea.

Dr. Jaming laughed. "Do you think I'm a fool? I know your real strength."

Gokuu stood and jumped over a gap between two Shigura. He landed beside Max. "I can't steer myself in the air."

A Shigura swung its head. The five jumped backward, toward another Shigura, which swung its head. Its head caught Kuririn's side. Kuririn crashed into Max, Max crashed into Gokuu, Gokuu crashed into Yamcha, and Yamcha crashed into Monica. The five slammed into a Shigura's stomach. On the ground, they plopped in a heap.

The Shigura that had swung their heads and the Shigura into which the five had slammed fell, panting.

"Whoa, just like Shingala," Kuririn said.

"Think we should try to catch their heads when they swing?" Gokuu said.

"And then what?"

Monica, who lay at the bottom of the heap, her head buried into the sand, said, "Guys, please get off me."

She grunted as the boys, one by one, rolled off each other.

"Where are the Shigura children and the elder?" Max yelled.

"They got away before I could put the devices on them. If they hadn't, you'd be dead by now. Count your blessings."

Max watched Dr. Jaming roam in a circle. The Shigura that remained standing swung its head, and the group hopped backward. A gust of air from its swing caused Max and Monica to stumble. The Shigura fell.

"Maybe these guys'll get up if we hit them," Max said. "And when they wake up, their heads'll swing into the air. Everyone, stand in front of the Shigura's heads. When Dr. Jaming hovers over the one you're standing in front of, hit their heads, hard enough to wake them up, but light enough so they don't get seriously hurt."

The five replied in the affirmative. They ran to one Shigura each. Gokuu and Kuririn stood beside each other.

They watched Dr. Jaming. The platform neared Gokuu and Kuririn's Shigura.

"Now." Gokuu lightly kicked the Shigura's head. The Shigura swung its head upward, and its head smacked against the platform, forcing the platform upward a little ways. The remainder of the Shigura lifted their heads.

Yamcha cupped his hands over his mouth. "You should've made a shield, genius."

Dr. Jaming growled. "I've just about had it with your attitude." He strummed the Marionette faster. All the Shigura swung their heads. The five ran in the middle so that their backs pressed against each other. The Shigura's heads came inches away from their bodies. Then, their heads collapsed onto the ground.

Monica raised a hand. "Hold on, guys. The Shigura don't deserve to be hurt because of a madman." She turned to Gokuu. "Gokuu, if you aim right this time, will you be able to hit him?"

"Yeah." Gokuu watched Dr. Jaming, turning his body with the platform.

"So, you're going to try and hit me again?" The platform flew higher. "Let's see you get me now."

"That doesn't make it any harder." Gokuu aimed at Dr. Jaming and then launched himself toward the platform. Dr. Jaming gasped and stepped back. He strummed the guitar faster. The Shigura lifted their heads, but Gokuu was beyond their reach.

Gokuu landed on the platform. He heard Monica cheer.

"Stop messin' with the Shigura," Gokuu said.

Dr. Jaming pressed the guitar against his chest. "I-I'm not going to stop playing just because you ask me to."

Gokuu took a battle stance. "So I'm gonna have to fight you to get you to stop."

"No, don't—" One of Dr. Jaming's feet stepped onto air, and his other foot followed suit. He fell, hollering, his guitar clutched in his hands. He landed on a Shigura's back and then rolled onto the sand. The platform stopped moving.

Kuririn and Yamcha disappeared and then reappeared so that they stood before Dr. Jaming. Dr. Jaming crawled backward. Max and Monica ran behind him. He looked at them, wide-eyed, and stopped. Gokuu jumped between Monica and Yamcha, blocking any means of escape.

Yamcha snatched the guitar and snapped it in half. He opened the palms of his hands. Its remains littered the sand. "Oops. Sorry."

Dr. Jaming's body shook. He looked into the five's glaring eyes. He clenched his hands around some sand.

Yamcha eyed Monica. "What should we do with him?"

Before Monica could answer, the Shigura roared, their heads pointed into the air. Their eyes returned to their natural colors, and the devices slammed to the sand. They faced the group. One nearest the group lowered its head between Max and Monica. It slid closer and nudged Dr. Jaming.

Dr. Jaming rolled sideways so that he was near Kuririn's feet. He watched the Shigura crane its neck toward him. His body quaked.

It tapped his cheek with its tongue. Monica's mouth dropped.

"Wh-what?" Dr. Jaming said. "Why are you…?"

The Shigura grinned slightly. It nuzzled its head into Dr. Jaming's torso.

Dr. Jaming blurted out a laugh. "S-stop that, you." He bit his lip in an attempt to stifle his laugh, but one escaped his lips once more.

Monica lowered her sword, her eyes soft.

"Worthless!"

The group's heads snapped toward the voice. Gaspard stood near the edge of the battleship, and two Griffon Soldiers kneeled behind him. He scowled, his hands balled into fists.

"Why can't you do anything right?" Gaspard growled. "Failure after failure…!" _You and the emperor._

"I-I'm sorry, sir," Dr. Jaming said. Gaspard did not hear.

The remaining four Shigura poked their heads between the five and licked Dr. Jaming's face. Dr. Jaming relaxed. His body sunk into the sand, and his eyes closed. He smiled.

Gaspard turned. "None of you can do anything right."

Monica tore her gaze away from Dr. Jaming to look at Gaspard. "Gokuu, call Kintoun."

Max faced Monica. "You can't be thinking of going up there."

Monica nodded. "This might be my only chance."

Gokuu cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Gokuu, wait. Don't call Kintoun just yet. Monica, remember what happened last time?"

"I'm perfectly fine now. With Kamesennin's training, I'll make Gaspard pay. Gokuu, call Kintoun."

Gokuu opened his mouth.

"Gokuu, don't call Kintoun."

Gokuu frowned at Max and Monica. "Make up your mind, guys."

"What if Gaspard's stronger than he was before? He could take you back to Griffon's palace, and Griffon might block you from getting back."

Monica sighed. "Listen, Max. If I lose this time, you won't be able to blame yourself again. It'll be solely my fault. Don't you worry about me."

"But, Monica, we can't restore the world without you."

The battleship's roar increased in volume, preparing for departure. Monica faced Max. She looked at each of the boys, who nodded.

Monica bit her lip. Then, her mouth parted. She closed it. "I, I didn't know…"

"Gokuu and I had such a hard time getting around without you. We didn't know anything about Veniccio or what dangers we could've faced. We had a general idea, but you know so much about the world. Without you, we'd be in so much trouble.

"And it's not just that. You're a great friend, too. We'd hate to lose you."

The battleship's roar grew louder.

Monica stared at Max for some moments. She then looked at Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha, who smiled. She glanced at Dr. Jaming, the Shigura licking his face.

Monica's eyes softened, and her cheeks reddened. "I'm sorry to make you all worry so much, but…I have to get up there. Gaspard may kill thousands more if I don't defeat him now."

Max's shoulders sunk, his eyebrows arching upward.

"I'll come back. I promise."

Gokuu called Kintoun, and Kintoun appeared beside him. Monica climbed onto it.

"Sir, it seems one of them is going to use that cloud to come up here," a Griffon Soldier said.

Gaspard turned toward the edge of the battleship. "Oh, so she's going to try again, is she?" He chuckled. "Good. I need something to beat up on."

"Muten Roushi-sama's training is top-notch," Kuririn said. "You definitely be able to defeat him."

"Thanks." King Raybrandt lying on the throne room's floor flashed in Monica's mind. "This will definitely be his end." She pointed to the battleship. "Up there, Kintoun. Hurry."

Kintoun sped to the battleship's deck, and Monica hopped off. It flew over the horizon.

Gaspard's eyes did not leave Monica's. "You two, go inside."

"Yes, sir." Purple columns surrounded each Griffon Soldier, and the Soldiers and the columns faded.

Gaspard unsheathed his sword from his waist. "I'm glad you decided to visit me, princess. Dr. Jaming's latest failure has made me very upset. It'll be good to take my anger out on you."

Monica raised her Claymore. "I'd hardly call it a failure. He managed to control monsters and have them wreak havoc on Palm Brinks' citizens. Not only that, but he made Shingala attack Pau." She narrowed her eyes. "But if it's a failure, you must have some reason for coming here."

"If you must know, we were going to control all the Shigura so they would no longer bring Luna Stones here. That way, Luna Lab would never be built. You'd better be glad Dr. Jaming is so incompetent. But enough talk." He raised his sword, which was near Monica's size. "You came here to fight, you say? Let's fight."

Monica and Gaspard circled around each other, watching every limb of their opponent's body. After some minutes, Monica thought, _He's taller than me, and I'm guessing he swings harder, too. He's pretty fast and cunning. If I go in first, will he try to play a trick on me?_

Gaspard charged toward her, his sword raised high above his head.

_Trying to get first blood. I won't let that happen. _She ran toward him. When they neared each other, Monica guarded. Gaspard's sword scraped against the Claymore, sparks flying, and he withdrew his sword.

_I thought he'd do better than that._

He flipped over Monica. She faced him.

"Still trying to attack from behind. That just proves that you're a coward."

"It seems that your head injury's healed." His expression hardened. "Now you're fighting at your best. Since you're aiming to kill me, I must kill you. To do that, I'll use any means necessary."

An image of Gaspard fighting her father flashed in her mind. Her eyes widened. _Just like before._

Gaspard held his hand to his arm, within which a blue orb appeared. He slammed the palm of his hand onto the floor, and blue spikes of light erupted from the floor, toward Monica. She tried to leap sideways, but the shell turned her leap into a jump. Part of the magic caught her boot, and she fell on her side.

Gaspard stared at the shell as Monica pushed herself onto her feet. "Is that shell preventing you from fighting at your best?"

Monica scowled. "What's it to you? I thought you needed every advantage you saw, every weakness to kill me."

"The emperor hasn't yet commanded me to kill you. Even though you're aiming to kill me, that doesn't mean I don't want you to fight at your best, or else it would lessen the thrill of victory. Take that shell off."

Monica stared at Gaspard, her Claymore raised. "I wasn't born yesterday."

Gaspard lowered his hands to his sides. His blade tapped the deck. "I won't attack."

Monica stared at Gaspard for some seconds. She wiggled out of her shell, never taking her eyes off him. The shell clashed on the ground, and the deck shook.

Gaspard's mouth parted. _That shell's quite heavy. Did I make a mistake, letting her take it off?_

Monica sprinted to Gaspard. To him, she seemed to dart, disappearing and reappearing repeatedly as she did so. Her slashes appeared as blurs. Gaspard gritted his teeth, his skin tearing. He finally found a chance to guard, and he crossed his sword before his body. The Claymore scraped against his sword.

Monica jumped some yards into the air.

Gaspard looked up, panting. Blood rolled down his clothes. _Damn, she's fast. When did she get so good? _

Monica released a war cry as she fell, her Claymore raised overhead, a purple aura enveloping it. Gaspard leaped backward, against the deck's railing. Monica fell swordfirst. The floorboards cracked, and purple energy covered the middle of the deck. Gaspard cringed. The energy came inches within his feet.

Monica pulled her sword out of the floor and raised it. She darted to Gaspard. Gaspard began his flip over. When he was directly above her, she pierced his leg and swung him onto the deck. Gaspard lost his breath, and blood emerged from his mouth. She withdrew her sword.

Gaspard lay sprawled on the deck.

Monica stared, bug-eyed. _Amazing. Kamesennin's training really works._

He opened his eyes, glaring at the floor. He flipped onto his feet and swiveled around to face her. He ran to her. To Monica, he appeared to run in slow motion. He slashed horizontally. Monica backflipped. She charged her Destruction Brassard a little ways and released a multitude of fireballs. Gaspard jumped sideways. He ran to her and slashed. Monica guarded, and sparks flew. Monica thrust Gaspard's sword away using her Claymore, causing Gaspard to step back.

She darted to him. Gaspard guarded, and she slashed multiple times. Gaspard's sword caught some slashes, his skin tearing open. In mid-slash, she disappeared.

Gaspard looked around. _That little boy and his martial arts friends have done this a few times. If that's the case, then… _He turned around. Monica was not behind him.

A searing pain coursed though his side. He leaped sideways, grinding his teeth to bear the pain. A gash lined his right side. Monica stood across from him.

"Unlike you, I'd never attack from behind."

Gaspard laughed. "It seems as though I've made a mistake, letting you take that shell off."

Monica appeared to slide to him. She thrust her Claymore into his stomach. Gaspard's eyes began to water. "It seems you have."

Gaspard's mouth hung open, and blood rolled out of it. The world blackened for a moment.

Gaspard's blood covered his clothes and the majority of the battleship's deck. Monica glared into his eyes.

"What are you waiting for, princess? You could—" He hacked, and blood splattered in her hair—"You could slice me in two right now."

Monica withdrew her sword. Gaspard slid onto one shaky knee. He slammed the palms of his hands onto the deck.

"It seems I'm just as incompetent as Jaming." He chuckled and looked at Monica. She held her Claymore to his heart.

Here was the chance she had waited for throughout her journey. She would avenge her father's and Crest's deaths, and her father and Crest would smile at her doing so. Gaspard would be banished to hell for eternity.

The palms of her hands became sweaty. The Claymore nearly slipped out of her hand, and she gripped the hilt tighter.

He would burn in hell for eternity.

She stared at Gaspard's heart. Her breaths grew shorter, and her heart hammered against her chest so that it began to ache.

_This man killed my father. He's wrecked havoc on my kingdom and killed many innocent people. If I kill him, he won't be able to hurt anyone else. More people will live if he dies. His death is for the greater good._

She visualized the Shigura licking Dr. Jaming's face. She shook the image from her mind.

_This is for the greater good._

She pressed her sword against his heart. Gaspard remained motionless. He stared at the blade.

_If I don't kill him, I'll have made Max and the others worry for nothing._

She attempted to pierce Gaspard's skin, but she could not. No blood emerged from the area in which her blade pressed.

"Of course you can't. You're above assassination."

Monica looked into Gaspard's eyes, which looked into her own, wide ones.

"I'm sure you don't have the heart to do what I've done a countless number of times. You despise monsters like me, don't you?"

Monica stared, bug-eyed. Her breaths shortened further.

"You're still human, Monica. Cherish that."

Monica dropped her Claymore, and it clanked onto the deck. She stared at Gaspard, open-mouthed, Gaspard staring at the Claymore.

"I assume you're letting me go." Gaspard rose slowly. He lowered his hands to his sides. "Just so you know, I'll probably die anyway. The emperor won't be pleased with this failure."

He picked up her Claymore. "Here."

Monica's hands shook as she reached toward the hilt. She managed to grip it and slide the sword out of his hands.

"Don't forget your shell."

Monica backed away, gawking at Gaspard, until coming to her shell. She picked it up and slipped it onto her back.

"Even though I lost, I was still able to release some frustration." He looked at the shore. Monica stared at him. He watched the Shigura lick Dr. Jaming. The boys surrounded Dr. Jaming but watched Monica and Gaspard.

"Why don't you get back down there? Your friends are waiting for you." Sadness flashed across Gaspard's expression. _Friends._

Monica stared at him.

"Hurry up, or I'm taking you back to our emperor. He won't kill me if I deliver you to him."

Monica stared at him. She turned and ran to the edge of the deck. She jumped off, looking at Gaspard. She stumbled upon her landing in the sea.

She watched the battleship fly over the horizon. She stared at the spot the battleship had been, her eyes softening.

_Forgiveness._

"What happened? It looked like you beat him."

Monica faced Max. Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha stood beside him.

"Didn'tcha wanna kill him?" Gokuu said. "He killed your father."

Monica watched the tide wash the shore at intervals. "Yeah. I did." She looked at the Shigura that licked Dr. Jaming. Dr. Jaming smiled, and he rubbed the Shigura's head. The other Shigura surrounded him. One nuzzled his body.

"I'm gonna run through Ocean's Roar Cave for a bit." Her voice was unsteady. "You guys figure out what to do with Dr. Jaming and then head back to Veniccio. I'll get back to Veniccio in a little while."

The boys watched Monica run into Ocean's Roar Cave. Gokuu cocked his head.

* * *

Gaspard had often gone to the garden for peace and calm. It was a soothing area in which to think, to recollect his thoughts, his feelings, for green surrounded it, and flowers lined two ponds at the sides of the room, lily-pads scattered throughout the ponds. A constant, soothing sound was provided by two waterfalls that fell into the ponds. However, a carpet led to the throne near the back of the garden, constantly serving as a reminder of his emperor. He had to turn so that his back faced the carpet, the throne, to prevent his blood pressure from rising.

He and the two Griffon Soldiers who had accompanied him to Veniccio kneeled before Griffon, who sat upon the throne that had not always been in the garden.

"Another failure."

"Yes, sir," Gaspard and the Griffon Soldiers said in unison.

"I even showed you how I would like you to torture them, but you still fail. What will it take for you to succeed? Tell me, what's the problem?" Before one of them could reply, he continued. "Gaspard, you were in charge of this operation, yet you allowed Dr. Jaming to do all the work. What was the problem?"

Gaspard shook his head. "I don't know, sir." _Hypocrite._

"Maybe your lackeys will know. What was the problem?"

The Griffon Soldiers shook their heads, both saying, "I don't know, sir."

"Was it the fact that Dr. Jaming never seemed to get his invention right, or was it Monica?"

Gaspard nearly twitched. He felt Griffon glaring at him. His gaze remained fixed on the floor.

"Did she hit a soft spot, Gaspard?"

"…I don't know, sir."

For a moment, the waterfalls' sound pervaded.

"I see they've started training with weights. It appears as though those are responsible for Monica's power up. Gaspard, you've struggled against her more than I've ever seen you before. You're becoming worthless, too."

Gaspard prevented himself from scowling. "Yes, sir."

Griffon pointed at Gaspard with two fingers. Gaspard kept his eyes open, his teeth gritting. He stiffened his body.

Smoke puffed behind them.

"Stand."

Gaspard and the soldiers stood.

"Turn around."

They turned around. Gaspard's eyes widened.

Shells.


	49. Goodbye, Shingala

**Chapter Forty-nine: Goodbye, Shingala**

Max, Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha turned toward the Shigura that licked and nuzzled Dr. Jaming. Dr. Jaming's grin reached both ears, and his eyes had softened.

"It looks like he's getting on here okay," Max said. "We should probably leave him alone."

"But he might rebuild his Marionette and attack again," Yamcha said.

"I don't think he will. He looks pretty happy."

Dr. Jaming laughed and rubbed two Shigura's heads.

Kuririn placed his hands on his hips. "Well, he hasn't done anything since Monica went up to fight Gaspard. I guess he's fine now."

Gokuu's ears perked. He and the remainder of the boys faced sliding noises emanating from the rocks. Buru and the three Shigura children slid around the rocks, toward them. The boys met them.

"Dr. Jaming and Gaspard didn't hurt you guys, did they?" Kuririn said.

Buru shook his head. "Fortunately, no. We were able to get away safely. Thank you for your concern, and thank you for saving us. Who were those people?"

"Emperor Griffon's henchmen," Max said. "I think they were trying to destroy your village."

"Emperor Griffon?"

Max explained who Griffon was, the extermination of humans fifteen years ago, and their journey to restore the world.

"I see. So that is what that great flash of light was." Buru hung his head. "If I do not know what is happening in this world, I must truly be getting old." He looked toward the sea. The setting sun illuminated his face. "My days as the elder of this tribe are coming to an end."

The Shigura children slid to the Shigura that surrounded Dr. Jaming. They lowered their heads toward Dr. Jaming, examining him. One rolled him onto his stomach, and Dr. Jaming released a cry. Another nudged his stomach. Dr. Jaming laughed.

Max pointed to Dr. Jaming, who rubbed the Shigura children's heads. "He's one of the henchmen that came. I think he's had a change of heart, though."

"It seems as though he has taken a liking to this tribe's Shigura, and the Shigura have taken a liking to him. I wonder if he would like to stay with us for a while."

"Wait, you're willing to have the guy that attacked you stay with you?" Yamcha said.

Buru nodded. "It seems as though his happiness is genuine, so I doubt he will attack again."

Kuririn and Yamcha exchanged gawks.

Max eyed his Shell Talkie. "I'll give him this. Then you can ask him." He ran to the Shigura surrounding Dr. Jaming and then squeezed between an adult and a child.

Dr. Jaming jolted upright. The Shigura nuzzling him whipped its head toward Max.

"What do you want?"

Max ran to Dr. Jaming, his hand clutching the Shell Talkie outstretched. "The Shigura elder wants to ask you a question. You'll need this to talk to him."

Dr. Jaming frowned. He looked from the Shell Talkie, to Max's face, and back. He took the Shell Talkie and studied it. "Impressive device."

"The Luna Lab researchers invented it."

"Luna Lab… If I had succeeded in my plans, Luna Lab would've never been built, and devices like these would've never been invented." Dr. Jaming smiled at the Shigura. "Thank you all."

"He's over here. Follow me." Max squeezed between the Shigura, Dr. Jaming following, and ran to Buru. Dr. Jaming held the Shell Talkie to his ear.

Dr. Jaming gestured toward Max. "This boy told me you wanted to ask me something."

"That's right. So, you are the human that attacked my tribe."

Dr. Jaming averted his gaze to the sea, whose tide washed the shore at intervals. "Y-yes, sir. But that was before—"

"Have you taken a liking to the members of my tribe?"

Dr. Jaming looked into Buru's eyes. "Yes, I have."

"How would you like to join my tribe?"

Dr. Jaming's eyes widened. "But sir, I'm a hu—" He winced, remembering the times when people called him a monster, told him that he belonged in the woods. "I'm a…different species than you all."

"That does not matter."

Dr. Jaming stared at Buru, his mouth parted. He closed it. "Sir, why are you and the rest of the members of your tribe being so nice to me?"

"We do not believe in violence. It only elevates matters. Besides, it seems your change of heart is genuine and that you were never a bad person. I believe those people on the battleship may have been manipulating you."

Dr. Jaming dropped his eyes. "They may have been."

Gaspard had persuaded Dr. Jaming to join Griffon's army during one of Dr. Jaming's weakest times. He had failed multiple times to make his Aeroharmonics technology respond to his guitar. He had been an inventor since his adolescence, shutting himself in his room to invent to avoid those who insulted him. He left his room solely for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and school, to which his parents had reluctantly sent him.

His parents also left only when they needed to go to the bakery. He could hear the villagers from his room.

"What kinda disease do you guys have?"

"Stay away from us. Whatever your son has, I'm sure you have it too."

In school, the children had tossed about similar insults.

"Your parents must be as sick as you are."

"Ew! You're gross."

While Dr. Jaming walked through the hallways to his next class, someone had said, "Keep away from me, you blue-footed booby."

The hallway had erupted with laughter. He had been sure he had seen some teachers attempting to stifle their grins.

When he returned home, he played his father's old guitar so that he would not have an excuse to be outside his room, in which his father never ventured. Some days, he played rock songs and imagined his bullies being violently reprimanded. Other days, he played ballads. Tears rolled down his face as he did so.

After playing a ballad upon his arrival home from a violent day of school, he looked around his room. The objects were manmade, not accidental, and perfect. His lamp, his door, everything was perfect.

He looked at his crusty, blue hands. They were accidental and imperfect.

He could create perfection.

His first invention was a mobile alarm clock. He had attached pieces of metal bars to the clock and inserted a battery. It could tap people's shoulders, throw back the covers, do anything necessary to wake one up.

During his adolescence, he had invented doors that responded to commands to close or open and appliances that had done the same.

When he was twenty, his parents were diagnosed with a fatal illness. Some villagers believed that Dr. Jaming had given it to them even though he did not carry any diseases. Two months later, they passed. Dr. Jaming had been by their sides in the hospital. He did not have enough money to organize their funeral, and they never had one.

His father's will had stated that Dr. Jaming was to be given the home. Dr. Jaming remained in the home for over ten years. He could not acquire a job to buy another home away from the village.

"People'll think you're contagious or something," one interviewer had told him.

One day, when Dr. Jaming had left for bread, he had gotten jumped by three villagers. They had run him into a cave and beat him as they did so. They had said that the darkness would conceal his ugly body. Dr. Jaming had scurried deep into the cave. Bruises and blood covered his body.

He was sick of it.

At night, he ran to his home and shut himself in his room. He would get away from humans and live with monsters. They would not ostracize him because of his looks.

He thought about flying cars he had seen on television shows. Flying cars could travel anywhere.

He began to invent. He could not think of a way to power the flying technology without it losing power. He attempted to use his guitar to power his device, but the device would not respond.

Two weeks of inventing in his room passed. While he spent another night inventing, ignoring the thunderstorm, red lights flashed outside his window. He had jumped onto his feet and peeked outside the window. Fire enveloped the grass and the houses. Screams caused him to smile: Although he would be next, he would die happily knowing that his enemies received their comeuppance.

A battleship hovered in the air near the two moons, and bullets and bombs fell from it. A gray-haired half-human slaughtered everyone he saw with a slash of his sword and approached Dr. Jaming's home.

The man had jimmied the door. Dr. Jaming cowered under his bed's sheets. The man's boots fell heavily against the floor, and the bed shook with each footfall.

He heard a piece of paper being unraveled.

"Dr. Jaming."

He had not known how the man had known his name, nor did he care to find out. He peeked over his bed sheets. "Kill me quickly."

The man's smirk had widened. "No, that's not what I'm here for. You are an amazing inventor."

Dr. Jaming stared at the man, wide-eyed.

"Your inventions have caught not only my attention, but the attention of a powerful emperor as well. We have been watching for some time, and we have seen the…unfair treatment that these scum"—He gestured toward the window—"have subjected you to. I can relate. Those bastards tortured myself and my mother." His smirk became a scowl. "Even my mother, all because I wasn't human enough for them."

He smirked once more. "But my emperor has the power to make them all pay. We're only missing your high intelligence and unique inventions."

The man spread his arms to his sides. "What do you have to do here? What do you have to look forward to? Nothing. That is, unless you join us."

_Revenge. _The word echoed in Dr. Jaming's mind.

Dr. Jaming's mouth had twisted into a smile. He stood and shook hands with the man.

"Welcome, Dr. Jaming. I am Gaspard."

"Are you all right?"

Dr. Jaming looked at Buru. Max, Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha stared at him.

"Y-yes, sir. I was just thinking." Dr. Jaming smiled and kicked the sand lightly. _I can leave all that behind._ "Yes, sir, I would like to become a member of your tribe."

Buru grinned. "I'm glad."

Dr. Jaming returned the grin. "So am I."

"Welcome to my tribe. I am Buru, this Shigura tribe's elder, but I am about to step down and name another Shigura as elder. You can witness the ceremony if you would like."

Dr. Jaming's smile broadened. "I'd like that, sir."

Buru looked at the Shigura, which stared at he and Dr. Jaming. "I'd like to allow everyone an opportunity to recover. We will leave in three days." He looked at the boys. "Please, if you are not busy, come see us off."

"We will," Max said. "We'll make sure that Shingala's back here, too. We'll see you in three days."

"Should we go find Monica?" Kuririn said.

"No. I think she's not really sure what happened on that battleship, either. She might need some time alone to figure it out, so let's take Kintoun back to Veniccio and tell Pau that the Shigura will leave in a few days." He glanced at the group of Shigura, to which Dr. Jaming had returned. "I'm sure he'll want to spend those days with Shingala."

* * *

Monica ran through Ocean's Roar Cave, ignoring the monsters and her throbbing legs. She played her and Gaspard's fight repeatedly in her mind.

"_You're still human, Monica. Cherish that."_

He believed that he was not human, and neither had she. The number of people he had assassinated, her father's and Crest's assassinations having the biggest impacts, had convinced Monica and her people—even her mother, who forgave quickly—that Gaspard was a monster.

It seemed as though Gaspard cared for Monica.

_Why?_

Monica pondered that question for a long while. She could not think of a reason.

"_I'll probably die anyway_. _The emperor won't be pleased with this failure."_

Monica's eyes widened, and sweat covered her forehead and hands. _I won't be able to… _She shut her eyes for a moment. Maybe Griffon would not kill him. Since Griffon had taken a liking to her and, most likely, knew that killing Gaspard was against her wishes, perhaps he would not.

Griffon would be disappointed in Gaspard. Although he had not commanded Gaspard to kill her, he would become angry for Gaspard's struggle against her.

Gaspard had betrayed Griffon in a way, similarly to the human who may have betrayed Griffon and caused a feeling to materialize inside his body.

She hoped Griffon had not killed that human.

_Who am I kidding? He wiped out all the humans just because of that one._

An ache grew in her chest, and she clutched her heart.

Gaspard was not a monster to her. He had assassinated many, but he was under Griffon's command.

She had never questioned why Gaspard had joined Griffon.

She visualized Gaspard. Examining him, he did not appear to be completely human. Nearly everyone in her kingdom was unkind to those who appeared to be monsters, save the Firbits and Moon People: Their shops had boosted the kingdom's slumping economy, and the Moon People's divinations had made Crest's predictions more accurate.

The monsters in the dungeons had often come into her kingdom to pillage and wreck havoc upon it. Her people had always associated monsters with destruction, including herself, her mother, and her father, further encouraging others to treat half-humans with disdain.

_That must've been tough._

Perhaps because he was never completely human, he decided to perform inhumane actions. She sighed silently as she ran up the stairs leading to the shore.

_All because of his appearance._

She looked up. The moon gave the sea a whitish glow, and schools of fish swam in every direction.

_Racism, in my kingdom. And my father, no, no one did anything to stop it._

She turned toward the entrance. The ache in her chest intensified.

* * *

Kuririn and Yamcha released Gokuu's hand and Kuririn's hand respectively, and they dropped to the pier. Max and Gokuu hopped off Kintoun. It flew into the distance.

The remainder of the group sat on the piers. Pau lay on the sand near Shingala, who sat in the sea.

Pau stood, waving. "Hey, how'd everything go?"

"Where's Monica?" Oolong said.

"Everything went fine," Max said, he and the remainder of the boys stopping before the group. "Dr. Jaming's still alive, but it looks like he had a change of heart. The Shigura tribe elder invited him to become part of the tribe, and he accepted."

Pau balled his hands into fists. "Why would they…?"

"I overheard the Shigura's conversation with Dr. Jaming," Yamcha said. "Even though he forced the Shigura to attack us and you, Pau, the Shigura are very forgiving, uh, species. I'm not exactly sure why the Shigura took a liking to Dr. Jaming either, really." He gestured toward the boys. "None of us are."

Max pointed to Ocean's Roar Cave's entrance. "And Monica's running in Ocean's Roar Cave. She looked really out of it after she—after we defeated Dr. Jaming. I guess she's trying to figure out why the Shigura forgave Dr. Jaming so quickly, too."

Oolong slipped his hands into his pockets. "She has her own ways of figuring things out, huh?"

"And the Shigura are leaving in three days," Kuririn said.

Pau's eyes widened. His eyes became distant for some seconds and then moved to Shingala, who cocked his head.

"I'm gonna take Shingala into Ocean's Roar Cave for a bit." Pau withdrew a green ball from his pocket, and Shingala's eyes lit up. "We're gonna play for a while."

Monica ran out of Ocean's Roar Cave, her face red and hair damp. She jumped onto the pier and ran to the group. Her knees wobbled. Then, she collapsed.

"Whoa, Monica, are you okay?" Kuririn extended a hand.

She panted for some seconds. She grabbed Kuririn's hand and allowed him to pull her onto her feet. She gripped his remaining hand, and Kuririn's cheeks became hot. "Yeah, I just, I just ran through Ocean's Roar Cave from end to beginning, without stopping." She panted. "I think my legs went numb while I was running, but now I can feel the pain coming back to me." She winced. "Oh, geez."

"You all are welcome to rest inside my cave, even while I'm gone. The sleeping bags are still out. Monica, do you think you figured out why the Shigura forgave Dr. Jaming so quickly?"

"Huh?" She glanced at each of the boys. Max nodded slightly so that no one noticed the gesture. "No, I didn't. I guess I can't really understand forgiveness."

Pau sighed. "That makes all of us. The Shigura probably have their own ways of doing things, and we probably'll never be able to understand."

He gripped Shingala's fin. "Anyway, I just told everyone that since the Shigura are leaving in three days, I'm going to spend a little time with Shingala. Shingala, you ready?"

Shingala roared and charged toward the cave.

Pau grabbed the fin with both hands. His body flopped in the air. "H-hey, slow down. I know you're anxious, but slow down."

Shingala quickened his pace. The group watched, smiling.

"Since we have a little bit of free time now," Monica said, "how about we have some fun?" She eyed Max. "I know you can't swim, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself in the water."

Max's eyes twinkled. "All right. Three days to play in the sea. Let's go." He jumped off the pier, and cool water sloshed his legs. "Wow, it feels so good. Come in and join me, everyone."

"Be right in, Max. I need to change first."

Muten Roushi's head snapped toward Monica, who ran into Buruma's house. A small grin appeared on his face.

The group jumped into the sea, save Claire and Mayor Need, who dangled their feet off the pier and into the sea. The group swam in the water while Max and Donny waded. They dove underneath and watched the fish. Claire turned onto her stomach and poked her head under the surface. Max and Donny crouched and dunked their heads underneath.

Some seconds later, they withdrew their heads, gasping.

"Just like old times." Max thrust his hand underneath the water and moved it up and down. He felt grains of salt rubbing against it. He attempted to catch fish using his hand.

"Gokuu, you ought to teach me how to catch fish without using a rod."

"You have to be really fast."

"Well, that's even better. You can teach me how to be fast."

The green house's door slammed, and the group looked in its direction. Monica, in the Panther Ensemble, ran to the edge of the pier and then dove into the sea as though she were an arrow. She surfaced and shook her head. Water emerged from her hair, which glistened. Muten Roushi, Kuririn, and Oolong pinched their noses and turned sideways, eyeing her as she swam.

"Damn," Kuririn whispered.

"That's very impressive," Muten Roushi said.

"I'll say," Oolong said. "Think she notices us?"

"I hope she doesn't," Kuririn said. "She'll chop us down if that happens."

"This feels amazing." Max ran back and forth through the sea. He turned his head and coughed; water had splashed on his face. He faced the source: Monica.

A grin spread on her face. "Can't go in the water without having a little water fight."

Max smirked. "Oh, so that's how things are." He bent down and scooped water into his hands. "Take this." He threw the water on her, dampening her hair further.

She grasped her braided ponytail. "It takes my hair a _very_ long time to dry. I'm sure you won't appreciate this." She ran to him and snatched his cap.

He smiled. "Hey, give that back." He swiped his hands multiple times toward her, but she swayed so that his hands swiped air.

"Sorry, but you'll have to be a lot quicker than that." She waved the cap and ran toward the distance.

Max's smile broadened. He ran after her.

Muten Roushi, Kuririn, and Oolong watched, their noses leaking blood. Kuririn chuckled.

Yamcha turned his attention to Pau's cave. _Buruma'll kill me if she sees me looking at another girl_.

"I hope you're not thinking the same thing as these wonderful men are." Buruma gestured toward Muten Roushi, Oolong, and Kuririn.

"Trust me, I'm not." He grinned. "Now…" He pushed water onto her. Buruma yelped and stepped back.

"I wasn't ready. At least give me a warning first."

"Hey, I wanna play, too." Gokuu thrust water on Buruma. She coughed.

"Don't team up on me." She threw water toward boys. They both dodged.

"Slow down for me, will you?"

"Okay," Gokuu said. "That way, it'll be a fair fight."

"This isn't a figh—" She reeled back as water drenched her face.

Once Max and Monica had disappeared into the distance, Muten Roushi, Oolong, and Kuririn joined the fray. Water splashed in all directions.

"That actually looks pretty fun," Claire said.

Mayor Need, who sat beside her, said, "Would you like to join them?"

She stood. "I think I will. It'll even be worth it to get dirty." She jumped into the sea, and Mayor Need followed. Their shoes sunk into the sand. Water covered Claire's face, and she hopped back. Then, she thrust water onto Puar. Puar tumbled into the sea.

The group continued to throw water on each other, and laughter filled the air. A Geron, Ragstink, and Goyone peeked from behind a rock near Ocean's Roar Cave. A Geron ran to the group and kicked water onto Buruma.

Buruma suppressed a scream. She smiled and splashed water on the Geron.

A Ragstink twirled into the sea and splashed water on the group. They faced it, their faces dark. They thrust water on it simultaneously. The Ragstink crashed into the sea.

A Goyone swam into the sea and used its spear to deflect water from its body.

Pau and Shingala ran out of Ocean's Roar Cave, and Pau hopped off Shingala's back. They watched the fight for some seconds and then exchanged smiles. They ran into the sea. Shingala swung his head and drenched the group. Everyone stopped.

"Get Shingala!" Kuririn said.

The group released a war cry and threw water toward Shingala. Shingala swiped his head through the sea in succession and covered the group in water each time. Pau thrust water onto the group.

After some minutes, the group slowed and panted. They laughed. Shingala grinned at the group.

"Gokuu, Yamcha-san, Muten Roushi-sama, I challenge you all to a water fight," Kuririn said.

"Oh, sure, lad," Muten Roushi said.

"I accept your challenge," Yamcha said.

"You bet, Kuririn."

The men disappeared. Water splashed in all directions, and the group stumbled back.

Pau looked around. "Whoa, I can't see any of them."

"They're too fast for us to watch," Buruma said.

"Get out of the way," Puar said, "or we'll be caught in the crossfire."

The remainder of the group spread out. Water appeared to whip up by itself and splash air. Pau and Shingala watched, their jaws slack.

* * *

Max waded after Monica. "Give it back."

"I'm not giving it back just because you ask me to. You'll have to work for this." She quickened her pace.

"M-Monica." Max waded faster. No matter how fast he waded, Monica outpaced him, and he was unable to catch her.

A half hour later, they arrived at an island with a palm tree in its middle. Monica stepped onto the sand and whirled around, waving the cap. Max stopped and panted.

She lowered the cap. "You want to really feel the sand and water, don't you? Why don't you take off your clothes?"

Max looked at himself. "Ah, right. I haven't really felt the water at all." He placed a hand on one of his overalls' straps.

Monica raised a hand. "Hold on just a sec. Are you wearing boxers or briefs?"

"Why?"

"Briefs aren't really appropriate for being in the water."

"Boxers aren't really either."

"They'll hold water better. Well? Which are you wearing?"

"Boxers."

"That's fine. Go ahead and take your clothes off."

He slid off his overalls, the shirt beneath, and his striped socks so that he wore only boxers. He tossed his clothes onto the sand.

"Whoa, this feels even better." He ran, in a circle, through the water. "Even more amazing." He stepped onto the sand. His feet sunk into it. He closed his eyes to heighten the feeling of the warm grains on his feet. It felt as though he were in bed. "Awesome." He opened his eyes and smiled wryly at Monica. "But that doesn't mean I forgot about my cap."

Monica grinned. "Come and get it, then. If you're fast enough, slowpoke."

Max slid his shell's straps onto his shoulders. He stared at Monica, who waved his cap. He released a cry and charged toward her. She turned and ran, laughing.

The duo ran around the island for some minutes. Max shouted, "Give it back," all the while.

Monica looked back at him and waved the cap once. "You don't need this for sunbathing."

Max nearly slowed his pace. "Sunbathing?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. You lie down on the sand and let the sun bathe you. The sun can't clean you like bathing in water, of course, but it can give you a nice tan, and it feels really good. Wanna do it?"

"Only if you give me back my cap."

"C'mon, Max. You don't need your cap to sunbathe."

Max's eyebrows arched upward, and his shoulders slumped. "Why do you want to keep my cap?"

"I'm just having a little fun with you. How often do we get to hang out like this? Relax. We have three days of free time."

"I'll relax when you give me my cap back."

"You can relax without your cap."

"How do you know?"

"You can get used to not having your cap. Let's sunbathe." She stopped. Max stopped behind her, staring at his cap.

"Lay down, just like this." Monica lay on her back. She closed her eyes and spread her arms to her sides, his cap clutched in her right hand. She exhaled, and her body sunk into the sand. "This is so comfortable."

She gestured toward herself. "Hurry up and lay down before the sun sets."

Max stared at his cap and nodded.

"Oh, stop worrying about your cap. It can't be that important, can it?"

Max shook his head. He walked beside her, near the hand that held the cap, and lay onto his back. He closed his eyes. "Wow, this feels great." The sand warmed his body.

"Just relax like this for a few hours. Make sure you turn over every once in a while so your whole body gets bathed."

Some hours later, after periodically turning onto their backs and their fronts, Max eyed Monica. Her eyes were closed, her mouth parted, and her body rose and fell.

He stared at his cap and bit his lip.

He reached toward his cap. Monica yawned and turned onto her side so that his cap faced the left. He frowned.

He slowly stood, ensuring that, if there was a way one could make sound in the sand, he did not do it. He tiptoed around Monica's feet, to her other side. He bent down and reached for the cap. Monica turned onto the opposite side. The cap faced the right. Max gritted his teeth.

He straightened and tiptoed around her feet, to her other side. He crouched. His knee cracked. He froze. Monica's eyes twitched, and her brows furrowed.

He stared at her for some moments. Monica's eyes relaxed. Her body rose and fell.

He reached for the cap. Monica stretched her arms upward so that the cap faced the palm tree. Max gritted his teeth harder.

Max tiptoed in front of her arms and reached. She turned onto her front, tucking the cap underneath her stomach. Her face lay sideways.

Max's mouth opened. _How am I supposed to get it back now?_

An image of the Sea Serpent burrowing underground and headbutting Monica upward flashed in his mind.

_That's it._

He tiptoed to her and crouched. He scooped out sand, creating a hole. Then, he dug a tunnel that led to her stomach. He pointed his hand toward his cap and reached.

Monica rolled over some feet and stopped on her front. The cap remained tucked underneath her stomach. Her body rose and fell.

Max stifled a growl. _You've got to be kidding me._

Monica's body shook. Max furrowed his eyebrows. He heard giggles. Monica turned onto her back and laughed.

"Max, you didn't think I was really asleep, did you?" she said between laughter.

Max stared at her, his mouth ajar. "Um…"

She sat upright and wiped a tear from her eye. "Man, that's the best laugh I've had in a while."

She looked at him. He stared blankly.

"Sorry if I hurt your feelings any. I was just having a little fun."

A smile spread on his face. "Yeah. Yeah, it's fine. Now that I think about it, it was pretty funny." He laughed. Monica joined him in laughter.

As they laughed, Max stepped toward her and reached for his cap. She turned, and he stumbled forward.

"Monica."

"What did I say earlier? You'll have to catch me first."

He stared at his cap, which she waved. He could remove his shell and grab the cap before she removed hers.

_This is frustrating, but it's not an emergency. Maybe I could—_

"Hey, Max, thanks for caring so much about me."

Max nearly jumped. "Huh?"

She lowered his cap and clutched it with her remaining hand. "At Shigura Village, you were so intent on keeping me away from danger. I really appreciate it."

He smiled. "No problem, Monica."

"Especially what you said at the end. I'm glad I'm such a great friend to you. I honestly didn't think I was." She averted her eyes to the palm tree. "When I think about it, I'm pretty selfish. After all, I always put myself in danger, and you guys usually have to save me, and you all start worrying yourselves to death about me. But, to think, you guys _need _me." Her eyes softened.

Max shrugged. "I was just telling the truth."

Monica's smile broadened slightly, and her cheeks reddened. "I know."

She watched the fish swim in the sea. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to defeat Gaspard. I made you all worry for nothing."

"You didn't get hurt, so it's fine. Besides, it looked like he let you go."

Monica looked into the distance, and silence pervaded for some moments. "I did a lot of thinking in Ocean's Roar Cave."

She stared at the horizon. After some seconds, she said, "I think I owe him an apology now."

"Huh? Who? Gaspard?"

Monica nodded.

"But why? Didn't he—"

She sighed. "Max, there are some things I never told you about my kingdom. What Gaspard did, it's not entirely his fault. A lot of the things my father and my people did were also to blame for Gaspard's actions."

"A-are you saying…?"

"Yes. In a way, it's mine, my father's, and my kingdom's own fault for Gaspard's assassinations, for his turning himself over to Griffon."

Max did not blink. "What exactly happened in your kingdom?"

"I'd rather explain in front of you and the rest of the boys. I'm getting pretty comfortable in front of Kuririn and Yamcha now, so I think I can tell them too. But let's not worry about that now. We've only got three days to relax." She raised the cap. "You have yet to take this."

Max could not grin.

"I'm sorry, Max. I probably shouldn't have said anything about that at all. This really wasn't the time or place for that."

"No, it's fine. I can get over it. Tell us whenever you're ready." He smirked. "For now…" He charged toward her. Monica grinned and ran toward Veniccio's shore. No matter what he did—quickening his pace, jumping toward her—she would remain ahead of him. If he knew Veniccio as well as he did Palm Brinks, he would take another route to cut her off.

Some minutes later, they arrived at Veniccio. Water lapped the air. Max and Monica slowed and gawked.

Max stopped beside Monica. "Don't tell me that Gokuu and the others are having a water fight."

"I've never seen a water fight like this before," Monica said.

Max eyed Monica, his eyes narrow. She watched the water splash into air. _You won't see this, either. _He swung his hand toward his cap. Monica twisted sideways, and he snatched air. He groaned.

Muten Roushi appeared. Water splashed onto him. Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha appeared around him.

"I see you're training Max, miss," Muten Roushi said.

"Yeah, in a way."

Max's head snapped toward her. "You mean this is all just training?"

"Well, I took your cap just to have some fun with you at first, but looks like it's turned into a training session. If there's one thing you've taken away from this, it's that you've learned to be a bit sneakier. Usually, when you attack, you're very direct and straightforward, y'know, honest. I like that about you personality-wise, but not while you're fighting. Sneakiness can help you take down enemies more easily."

"I see. I'm guessing the training's over now, so why don't you give me back my cap?"

Monica placed her hands on her hips. "What did I say earlier? You'll have to take it back from me. Oh, and you left your clothes on that island."

Max growled. He looked into the distance. The island was not visible. "When I get back, I'll be much faster than I was before. I'll definitely catch you then." He ran into the distance.

"It took us quite a while to run there and back," Monica said, "so he won't be back for a bit."

"Let's finish our water fight, guys." Gokuu disappeared. Muten Roushi, Kuririn, and Yamcha followed suit.

An hour later, Max ran toward the group, his face crimson, his clothing bunched in his hands. He jumped onto the pier, on which he placed his clothing. He faced Monica.

"Okay." He placed his hands on his knees and panted for some seconds. Then, he stretched. "I have to be fast enough to take my cap back now." He charged toward her. Monica turned and ran toward the cave in which the soldier had dwelled.

Max quickened his pace so that he ran as fast as he could, taking large strides. Monica looked back and saw him catching up to her. She frowned.

_He has gotten faster._

She quickened her pace, also taking large strides. The duo sprinted around the area.

"Remember, Max, my father trained me himself."

"Right." Max gritted his teeth, his hair damp against his skin.

The remainder of the group sat on the piers and watched.

"I get the feeling that they've been at it for hours," Kuririn said.

"It's just like Karin's training," Gokuu said. "It took me three days to get that water from him. Hours are nothing. Besides, Monica's not as good as Karin."

Donny cupped his hands around his mouth. "Keep at it, Max. Pretend that she's stolen one of your treasures and get your cap back." He lowered his hands. "I know that if someone stole one of my coins, I'd have no mercy on them."

Max jumped toward Monica. Monica jumped sideways. Max fell facedown, and he slid on the sand. He scrambled onto his feet, turned toward her, and sprinted.

"You're really resilient. Keep it up." She jumped onto the piers, stopped, and swiveled around. Max charged toward her.

She outstretched the hand clutching the cap. Max's eyes widened, and he stopped.

"I'm not trying to trick you."

Max stared at her. She smiled, and her eyes did not waver. He bit his lip and looked at the cap.

He inched forward. His heartbeats quickened as his breaths became shallow.

He neared Monica…

…and…

…she turned. He grabbed air. He smacked his forehead.

"You're a little gullible, Max. You need to learn to be more wary of things. Anyway, seriously, here." She held out her hand.

His expression hardened.

"Good, you're learning already."

Max blinked. His expression remained the same.

"All right. This'll prove that I'm not going to dodge you." She dropped the cap before his feet. He stared at her for a moment. He crouched, staring at her. His hands moved over the pier as they searched for his cap. He gripped the cap and placed it on his head.

His expression softened. "Thank you."

"It's nothing. If you ever want to do something like this again, just tell me."

Max nodded. "Sure will. Now, how about we relax with some sunbathing?"

* * *

After some hours of she and the remainder of the group laying on the sand, the afternoon sun bathing their bodies, Monica felt a poke. She opened an eye to see Max, the entirety of his body colored scarlet. She jolted upright.

"Monica, what happened to me? My body just started burning all of a sudden, like it was on fire, and I looked, and my whole body's red. Even my boxers burn against my skin."

Monica placed a hand on the back of her head. "Looks like you got sunburned. That happens when you stay in the sun for too long. Sorry, Max. I really should've told you beforehand. I guess it's because you aren't usually exposed to this much sun."

"If I touch myself or touch anything, it feels even worse. How long until I recover?"

She shook her head. "I…don't know. It depends on how long you've been out. Hurry up and get inside Pau's cave."

Max attempted to stand and winced.

"Wow, Max. I didn't know you could change colors."

Gokuu, who lay beside Max, grinned. He poked Max's back, and the area he touched whitened and then returned to its scarlet color. "I've never seen anyone change colors. How come you don't always do this?" He continued to poke, and Max yelped.

"Gokuu, don't touch," Monica said. "Can't you see you're hurting him?"

Gokuu placed his hand upon the ground. "Oops. Sorry, Max. I've never seen anythin' like this before."

Max stood, his teeth gritted. "Me neither. I hope I never see anything like it again." He hopped into Pau's cave.

* * *

Following some hours of sunbathing, occasionally entering Buruma's house to prevent sunburn, the group said their good nights and separated, the majority colored bronze.

Kuririn smiled at Monica. "You look really good with a tan. Not that you didn't look good before, but you look even better now."

"Thanks. I hadn't tanned in a while, so it was long past due. You look good, too." She smirked. "Not that you didn't look good before."

Kuririn grinned. "Uh, thanks." He placed a finger to his chin. "I think."

Upon entering Pau's cave, the boys, Monica, Muten Roushi, Puar, and Oolong saw Max asleep on a cot, nude. Monica turned away and covered her eyes.

Pau smiled sheepishly at them. "Max was so sunburned, he had to sleep like that."

"Think Dr. Dell's medicine'll work on him?" Gokuu said.

"Good idea, Gokuu," Monica said. "I'll go get him." She left the cave. Some minutes later, she returned, Dr. Dell behind him, a jar in hand.

"Max," Monica said.

Max opened his eyes. "Hm?" His eyes twinkled when he saw Dr. Dell.

Dr. Dell gave Max the medicine. Max turned so that his back faced the group. He rubbed the liquid on his body. The burning subsided, and his body became its natural color.

"Much better."

"Good," Monica said. "Now please put some clothes on."

Max did so as the group faced the wall.

"Oh, Dr. Dell," Max said, "before you go, when we got the Shigura medicine, we noticed that it looked and acted a lot like yours. Is there any connection between your and the Shigura medicine?"

Dr. Dell nodded. "There is. Before Mayor Need closed Palm Brinks' gates, I used to travel the world, looking for ways to make the most efficient medicine. I arrived at Veniccio around the same time the Shigura did. I saw the elder use Shigura medicine on another Shigura. Its wounds were instantly cured. I had never seen anything like it. I wanted to make medicine like that for humans. I asked for a sample of that medicine and told the Shigura my motives. The Shigura gladly gave one to me. I studied it for years." He raised the medicine. "This is the result."

"Thanks, Dr. Dell," Monica said. "Your medicine's been really useful."

"I'm glad. Now, let's turn in for the night. I've heard that you all have been really active today. You need your rest."

Max yawned. "We sure do."

* * *

After two days of playing in the sea, the five ran to Shigura Village via Ocean's Roar Cave. Pau and the remainder of the group, save Muten Roushi, who ran alongside them, rode Shingala across the sea to Shigura Village.

The five's hair and clothes were damp with sweat once they arrived at Shigura Village. Pau, Shingala, and the remainder of the group had arrived, facing Buru and the members of his tribe. Dr. Jaming stood beside Buru. He smiled, his front teeth prominent. The five ran to the group.

"You guys made it," Pau said. "Good. We just got here ourselves, and now…" He looked at the sand. Shingala cocked his head.

"So you were the one who found the lost member of my tribe." Buru bowed his head. "For that, I thank you."

Pau scratched the back of his head. "It's nothing, really."

Buru studied Shingala for some seconds. "This child's mother was lost on our journey. It is a long, difficult journey, even for the Shigura. We lose many along the way. Sadly, this child's mother was one of them."

Pau glanced at Dr. Jaming. "That's too bad."

"He must have seen you as a parental figure. That must be why he grew attached to you." He smiled. "I don't know how to thank you."

"No, anyone would've done it."

"You would be surprised. Many humans would have turned Shingala away. They may have thought that he was a monster. Shigura are not thought of as non-violent because of their appearance. But thanks to your kindness, this child will grow up to be a fine Shigura."

Shingala nuzzled Pau. Pau rubbed his head against Shingala's. He memorized the feel of Shingala's skin.

_I'm gonna miss you, Shingala._

"I would like to thank you all again for coming all the way through Ocean's Roar Cave for Shigura medicine," Buru said. "Without you, Shingala's injury may have become much graver."

"It was no trouble at all." Monica watched Dr. Jaming in her peripheral vision.

Buru looked around. "It seems that all the Shigura are prepared. It is time for us to depart south."

"So, this is goodbye," Max said.

"For now," Buru said. "I wish you good fortune on your travels."

Dr. Jaming climbed onto Buru's back. The Shigura, save Shingala, turned and slid toward the sea.

Pau cupped his hands around Shingala's head and looked into Shingala's eyes. "Take care of yourself, Shingala. You'll definitely grow up to be a great Shigura."

Shingala whimpered. He pressed his head against Pau's body.

Pau's vision became blurry. "I'm gonna miss you, too." He watched the Shigura slide into the sea. He blinked, and tears rolled down his cheeks. "What're you waiting for? Can't you see they're leaving?"

Shingala whined and pushed his head farther into Pau's torso.

"There are Shigura children there you can play with. You don't always have to play with me."

Shingala shook his head rapidly. He gazed into Pau's eyes, his own shining with tears.

"Y-you can't stay with me forever. You have to leave sometime." Pau stepped back and turned so that his back faced Shingala. "Go on. They'll leave you if you don't." He wiped his eyes.

Pau stepped forward, and Shingala bit his sleeve.

Pau tugged. "Shingala, you have to stop. I can't take you with me. You belong with the Shigura."

Shingala whined and pulled Pau backward.

"Shingala, stop. You can't come with me." He pulled. Shingala's teeth slid out of his sleeve. Shingala watched him run toward Ocean's Roar Cave.

Shingala whimpered, and his tears dampened the sand. Pau slowed to a stop. He ran his sleeve over his eyes and cheeks.

Shingala turned and slid into the sea. He looked at Pau, whose back faced him. He watched Pau for some moments. Pau did not turn around.

Shingala slid farther into the sea. He released a cry.

Pau's body shook. He turned and ran toward the sea, waving. "Shingala!"

Shingala stopped. He stared ahead, not paying attention to the setting sun.

"I know you'll come back someday. I'll be waiting for you."

Shingala released a cry and prevented himself from looking at Pau. He slid deeper into the sea.

"Goodbye, Shingala." Pau's expression softened. "Take care."

The group watched Shingala disappear into the distance. He appeared to merge with the sun.

The sea dragon, Shingala, after seeing the kindness of humans and Moon People alike, left on a journey across the seas. Every year, he brought Luna Stones to Veniccio and, when he did, he looked for Pau. Pau would take his green ball that he kept on his nightstand, and they would spend at least one day playing together. Their reunifications and goodbyes would be filled with emotions; both remembered Buru saying that they lost many Shigura during their travels.

Once Shingala reached adulthood, Buru crowned him as the Shigura tribe elder. Each year, Shingala increased the load of Luna Stones his tribe brought to Veniccio. Twenty years later, because of Shingala and his tribe's load of Luna Stones, Lunatic Wisdom Laboratory, the first global research center, was completed.

* * *

Buruma wiped her brow. She bent down to look out the Carpenterion's window, which had been designed for a Firbit's height. A windmill stood on the pier behind the purple house. She had looked at the conditions for fully restoring Veniccio multiple times and ensured that she had fulfilled every condition. She only had to travel to the future and check.

Buruma stepped on the platform, and the platform lowered itself to the pier before the windmill. After she stepped off, the Carpenterion flew into the distance.

Monica ran to her. "Hey, everything looks great."

"Thanks. The progress bar was filled the last time I checked. Luna Lab should be completely restored by now."

"All right. Thanks, Buruma. You've been a great help and a huge time-saver."

"It's wasn't a problem. The Carpenterion wasn't difficult to figure out at all."

"Let's go to Luna Lab and see if Dr. Nobb has our way to Griffon's time figured out."

They gathered the remainder of the group and told them that Veniccio was finished.

"So, our journey might be a few hours away from ending," Max said.

"Looks like it," Monica said. "I had a lot of fun these past few days." She blushed. "But, um, let's save the goodbyes for later, after we defeat Griffon."

Max nodded. "Right. We can't slow down now."

The group ran to the time gate. Max stood in its middle. He raised his Atlamillia, and it glowed. White enveloped the group's visions. When the light faded, the group opened their eyes.

The four labs stood in their original positions. A neon lab in the middle towered above them. A ring surrounded it, and a circular red and blue gate stood before it. Tubes corresponding to the red, blue, green, and purple labs' colors led to neon, circular gates before those labs. The gates' colors also corresponded to the labs before which they stood. The largest laboratory's doors glowed yellow. A green lamp sat atop the lab. On its tips were a blue orb, a green orb, and a red orb, pointed to the sky.

"Kinda looks like an amusement park," Kuririn said.

"Doesn't it?" the scientist at the entrance said. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought so."

"If it was my first time coming here," Oolong said, "I wouldn't think that a bunch of smart people worked here. I wouldn't be able to take this place seriously." He narrowed his eyes. "I bet that top researcher came up with the design."

The scientist nodded. "You hit it right on the nose."

Oolong scoffed. "Of course. Only him."

Gokuu clutched his head. "Th-this is kinda givin' me a headache. How long do we hafta stay here?"

"I dunno," Monica said, "but it's giving me a headache, too. We'll try to leave as quickly as possible." She pointed at the laboratory in the middle. "That's the Central Lab. I bet that's where we need to go. Let's drop off our Shell Talkies and head in there."

The scientist raised a hand. "Wait, you all. You're the ones restoring the world, aren't you?"

The group answered in the affirmative.

"Dr. Osmond wanted to see you. He's in the red lab."

The group entered the red lab, whose interior looked the same as it had previously. Osmond stood before the constructor.

Max's eyes widened. Arms that appeared as though they would fit into the Ridepod floated above the constructor. The orange hands did not have fingers but contained holes at its tips, indicating that they shot lasers.

Max ran to Osmond. The group stopped behind him. "Whoa, Dr. Osmond, what's this?"

"It's my latest invention, the Nova Cannon." Osmond shaped his hands into guns and pointed at Max. He cocked the "guns" upward as though he had shot them. "It shoots lasers. I created it just for your Ridepod, Max. It's thanks for completely restoring Luna Lab."

"Wow, I can tell it's an amazing machine just by looking at it. Thanks, Dr. Osmond."

"No problem." Osmond raised a hand.

"What's that?"

"A high five, of course."

Max reached toward Osmond. Osmond turned his hand downward and slapped Max's hand.

"That's not a high five," Monica said.

Osmond laughed. "I know. You remind me of a boy I traveled with before. I would always fake him out like this, make it seem like I was giving him a high five and then just slap his hand."

"I've never even heard of a high five before," Max said.

"I don't think Toan had, either. He was a small town boy like you, Max. Anyway, you guys should head into the Central Lab. It's the first lab that should've drawn your attention, the largest one in the middle. I've heard on the grapevine that we have a device to send you back ten thousand years."

Max's and Monica's eyes lit up. "Really?" they said in unison.

"Sure do."

Gokuu grinned and wound up his arm. "Heh, I get to beat up Griffon. I've been waitin' for this moment for a long time. I hope he's real strong."

"I hope that, somehow, he's really weak," Kuririn said. "That way, we'll have a better chance of defeating him."

Gokuu pouted. "That takes the fun out of fighting him, Kuririn."

Kuririn narrowed his eyes. "What would you rather have? Fun or the world?"

Monica faced the boys and clenched a hand into a fist. "Since we know how to work together so well, there's no way we'll lose." She laughed. "Finally, our journey will be over in a few hours." She quieted. "Our journey will be over." Her shoulders slumped.

"What's wrong, Monica?"

She smiled and eyed Max. "Once our journey's over, I'll have to go back to my kingdom. I'll be so busy there, especially with Father gone." She averted her gaze to the wall. "I probably won't see any of you again."

Max looked down. "Oh."

"We can visit you in the future, though, right?" Gokuu said. "Maybe when you get time off."

"I doubt it. I wouldn't be surprised if my kingdom enacted a law that banned time-traveling. Look at the mess time-traveling's already created."

"Do you have to be so negative?" Osmond said. "I bet you don't have many friends."

Monica gestured toward the boys. "Hey, that's not true."

"In your time."

"That's still not true."

Oolong crossed his arms. "You really don't act smart. I bet you got the top researcher position illegitimately."

"Of course not. Maybe your dirty little hands would, but not me."

Oolong pointed at his face. "Listen, you—"

Buruma cleared her throat. The scientists ceased their activities and looked at her.

"Guys, let's _go_."

"Right." Osmond glanced at Max, Monica and then Gokuu, who all smiled at each other. "Well then, if this early goodbye's over, let's head into the Central Lab and get rolling."

"We have to give our Shell Talkies back first," Max said.

As the group walked toward the blue lab, Oolong said to Osmond, "Your design's terrible."

"Why, thank you."

Upon entering the blue lab, Max, Monica, and Yamcha gave a scientist their Shell Talkies. Dr. Nobb was not in the blue lab.

When Kuririn pointed out Dr. Nobb's absence, Osmond said, "He's waiting for you all in the Central Lab."

The group left the blue lab and entered the Central Lab. Max's eyes brightened three shades. Although he did not recognize the types of tubes touching the floor and the ceiling, nor the dome-shaped machines that lined the light purple interior, various inventions passed through his mind's eye. His focus on the machines caused him to not notice the rotating chandelier and ramps that led to the metallic floor, on which Dr. Nobb and a girl wearing a lab coat stood. He grinned as he thought about the machines' interiors, how he could tinker with the machines…

Everyone stared at Max. Monica waved a hand over his eyes, but he did not blink.

Kuririn whistled. "You still with us, Max?"

Max stared at the machines. His body twitched. "Yes. Yes, I'm still here. I'm just, look at all this. I could make so much with all this. I've never seen so many machines in one place."

Osmond placed a hand on his chin. "When you become an adult, Luna Lab'll just be getting built." He looked at the ceiling. "Yeah, twenty years from your time, Max. The Shigura'll bring the largest load of Luna Stones in history, largely in part to Shingala."

"How do you know about Shingala?" Monica said.

"The Shell Talkies'll be invented a few years down the road, in Max's time, I mean"—he grinned at Buruma—"thanks to a certain blue-haired girl."

"Wow," Max said. "That's amazing, Buruma."

Buruma smiled. "Well, you know."

"People'll just be inhabiting Veniccio again," Osmond said, "especially since the monsters there are friendly thanks to you all. One of them will get the idea to build Lunatic Wisdom Laboratory. The same blue-haired girl, actually."

Max's eyes lit up. "That's even more amazing." He spread his arms. "You got the idea for all this?"

"Guess I don't know my own smarts."

"With the help of the Shingala and his tribe bringing Luna Stones," Osmond said, "you and a team of scientists and construction workers will build Luna Lab relatively quickly. Max, when Luna Lab is built in your time, try out for a position here. Maybe you'll get to invent all the time."

Max thrust a fist into the air. "That'd be a great job."

Osmond looked down at the platform. Dr. Nobb waved. "Now let's get you all 10,000 years in the past."

The group ran down the ramp and met Dr. Nobb and the blue-haired girl, who was an inch taller than Dr. Nobb. Monica and Buruma gasped.

Buruma pointed at the girl. "Y-you look just like me." She sounded as though the oxygen had been depleted from her body. "Y-you look—"

"I look just like you for a reason, y'know."

Buruma and Yamcha exchanged looks. Yamcha's mouth was ajar. A grin spread on his face, and he rubbed the back of his head.

"Not bad," he said. "So, you're Buruma and I's really smart daughter, I'm guessing. Or granddaughter, or great-granddaughter. One of our descendants."

The blue-haired girl stared at Yamcha for some moments. She cocked her head. "Who are you?"

Yamcha's eyes snapped wide open. His jaw slackened.

Silence pervaded the area for several minutes. The group looked from the girl, to Buruma, to Yamcha, and back. Muten Roushi scratched his chin. Donny shifted from side to side. Claire placed a hand upon her heart.

"I've never seen you…" The girl's eyes began to twinkle. "Oh, right. I know you."

Yamcha straightened, and the grin returned. "You do? So you were just messing with me earlier."

The girl smirked. "I guess you could say that. I do know you, though." She giggled. "You're the man who used to try and fight everyone, but everyone beat you all the time."

Yamcha's face began to fall.

She eyed the ceiling and counted off with her fingers. "Let's see. There was a guy named Tian Jinfan who you lost against in the twenty-second annual Tenkaichi Budoukai, a creature called a Saibaman that you lost against, a few Androids you lost against, a—"

"Please stop." Yamcha's voice had heightened several octaves.

"Also, you used to go out with my great-grandmother, who's standing right in front of me. She dumped you and married someone named Vegeta. I'm their great-granddaughter, also named Buruma."

Yamcha looked at the floor, the wall, and the floor. His mouth hung open.

"I'm one of the top researchers here now, and I work closely with the other top researchers, including Dr. Osmond, and with Dr. Nobb. Anyway, enough of that. Dr. Nobb?"

"R-right. Now I guess I'll tell you my plan for getting you all 10,000 years into the past."

Yamcha gazed at the floor. His skin had lost its color. Buruma's eyes darted from the floor to the wall, as though they did not know what to settle upon. The group stared at Yamcha, Buruma, and Buruma Jr. Claire's arm fell to her side.

"I know it's difficult right now—I can feel Yamcha's pain—but please pay attention. This is very important." Dr. Nobb gestured upward. A transparent blue screen lowered from a bar that hung near the ceiling. A blueprint for a train resembling the Blackstone One appeared.

"Ixion," Dr. Nobb said, "a time-traveling locomotive."

"Also designed by me," Osmond said.

"That's swell."

Osmond faced Oolong and opened his mouth.

"A fantastic nonstop express that can cross both time and space," Dr. Nobb said. "Once this is finished, you'll be able to travel 10,000 years in the past, where Griffon is."

Relief washed over Monica, and she sighed. Kuririn raised a brow at her.

_I get to stay with everyone a little longer, _she thought._ Wait a minute. This shouldn't make me feel good. I have to stay focused._

"How much longer will it take?" Max said.

"Let me check." Dr. Nobb turned around so that his back faced the screen. "Dr. Jaming!"

Monica whipped her head toward him. "Dr. Jaming?" She faced Dr. Nobb, stood on her toes, and bounced up and down. "Who do you mean, Dr. Jaming?"

A man resembling Dr. Jaming in every physical aspect walked to the group.

Monica glared at him. "What's he doing here? How'd he even get in here? Doesn't Luna Lab have one of the best security systems in the world? Why didn't it keep him out?"

"Hold on a minute," Dr. Nobb said. "This isn't the same Dr. Jaming who attacked you in the past. He's Dr. Jaming's grandson."

Monica lowered herself to the floor. Her glare faded.

"I'm terribly sorry," Dr. Jaming said. "It seems my grandfather caused you a lot of trouble. Please accept my apology."

Monica's mind flashed to her encounter with Gaspard three days previous. "Y-yeah. We accept your apology." Her eyes softened. _I should be apologizing to you._

Dr. Jaming smiled. "Thank you. Without my grandfather's research, I never would have been able to develop the Ixion. My grandfather was researching technology to make objects float on the air using sound. He called this his 'Aeroharmonics Flying Technology.' However, he came to a dead end in his research and became desperate. That's when Gaspard persuaded him into becoming one of Griffon's servants."

Monica looked Dr. Jaming up and down: he had blue skin and hair, and bucked teeth. _I get the feeling that's not the only reason he joined Griffon. _"I'm sorry."

The group, save Yamcha, looked at her, Max's mouth open.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Dr. Jaming said.

"I know you're not your grandfather, but you look so much like him, and I'll probably never see your grandfather again, so I'm apologizing to you. I'm sorry."

Max stared at Monica, his eyes soft.

"May I ask what for?"

"It's my fault, mine and my father's, my kingdom's fault for Dr. Jaming's joining Griffon. We freely allowed racism to pervade throughout the kingdom, and we—my father especially—were even a little racist ourselves. Father treated those who looked a little different, well, differently." She bowed. "On behalf of my father, my kingdom, I apologize."

For some moments, the beeps and metallic noises emanating from the machines pervaded.

"Please accept my apology."

Dr. Jaming smiled. "On behalf of my grandfather, I accept your apology."

Monica exhaled and straightened. "Thank you. Um, sorry for interrupting you. Anyway, what were you saying?"

"Oh, yes, where was I? Ah, that's right. After my father lost that battle to you all—" He gestured toward the five—"he joined a Shigura tribe."

Monica's eyes lit up. She cupped a hand around her mouth and said to Max, "Give me the details later."

"That caused him to have a change of heart. Traveling with the Shigura gave him much freedom and free time, both of which he didn't have while he was with Griffon. He rededicated himself to his research and perfected his Aeroharmonics technology. Many flying vehicles based on his technology were developed after that."

He pointed at the screen. "The Ixion uses the same technology and, by combining it with the Space-Time Control Panel I developed, you'll be able to travel to Griffon's time.

"My grandfather has passed away. Before he died, he told me to use his research for something good and just. I try to carry on his wishes. I think that by continuing his research, this world can truly be saved."

The group, save Yamcha, gawked at him.

"I'm glad he made something good out of himself," Monica said, "especially after everything that my kingdom put him through. You'd be surprised how many people face adversary throughout their lives but don't try to turn it around. Now that I think of it, many crooks and the homeless looked like they had deformities too, or were half-human." She averted her gaze. "I ought to apologize to them." She looked at Dr. Nobb, Buruma Jr., and Osmond. "Can you three do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?" Dr. Nobb said.

"Please issue a kingdom-wide apology addressed to anyone who was subjected to hate or racism. Please let them know that I'm busy now, but I will make it up to them when I return. If possible, please let Mother apologize as well."

"Will do," Buruma Jr. said.

"Thank you so much." Monica sighed, and her body sunk.

Max smiled. "Dr. Jaming, he was quite a guy."

"Yes," Dr. Jaming said, "and you and the Shigura helped him become the man he was."

A grin appeared on Max's face, and he shook his hands. "Well, I wouldn't necessarily say—"

"But that's strange."

Max looked at Monica, who rested her hand in her chin.

"In the history I know, Aeroharmonics technology was never perfected."

Buruma's eyes widened. "Um, do you think that we're creating a new history? I mean, I was just going off what the Geostones said, but everything's coming out differently than before."

"I don't think it's just that," Max said. "Think about it: Dr. Jaming never joined a Shigura tribe before we came along. He never had a change of heart, which means he never perfected Aeroharmonics technology."

Monica turned to the group. "So, we're changing history. Do you think that's…okay?"

"If it results in a better world, then yeah," Gokuu said. "What're you so worried about?"

"Well, what if we mess something up?"

"Then we have to be extra careful."

Max stared at the floor. Thoughts about Griffon, Monica's kingdom, their travels, what would've happened if they had never traveled, a world without Griffon and the Atlamillia passed through his mind. He looked up.

"I'm still getting the hang of this, but I'm thinking that history, as you know it, isn't the one, true history."

Everyone, save Yamcha, stared at Max.

"What," Kuririn said.

"What constitutes a 'true' history?" Buruma said.

"But it happened," Monica said. "I was there. It has to be true."

"Let him finish," Osmond said. "Go on."

"As well as fixing the flow of time that Griffon has disrupted, we've also been able to add new flows to it. Although these are different than the original flows, maybe they're meant to be the real world history."

"Huh?" Gokuu and Kuririn said in unison.

"Again, how do you know?" Buruma said.

"I don't. Remember, this is just a hunch." He placed a hand on his chin. "Ultimately, you could say that even Griffon is necessary for this new, complete history."

_With everything that's happened so far,_ Monica thought,_ I'm not surprised._

Buruma placed a hand on her hip. "So, basically, you're saying that Griffon, who destroyed the world fifteen years ago, is a good guy. Whatever you say."

"R-remember, it's just a hunch. But still, why not?"

"I can think of many, many reasons."

"Doctor, something terrible's happened!"

The group started. A scientist scrambled to them. "The rebel forces of the west are coming under attack from Griffon."

Monica's eyes softened. _He's still going, huh?_

"What?" Dr. Nobb said. "Get me Elena."

Max's body twitched. "That's…M-Mother's name."

Monica eyed him. His eyes had returned to haziness.

The scientist and Dr. Jaming nodded. "Yes, sir." They turned and ran deep into the lab.

A smile crept onto Monica's face. _Looks like she's coming. Finally._

Memories of the time Max had spent with his mother filled his mind, and warmth spread throughout his body. _In a few minutes, no, maybe a few seconds, I'll see exactly who she is, what she does. By the sound of it, she's part of the rebel army against Griffon. _He bit his lip. _So, that's why I haven't seen her all this time. She's put herself at the forefront of this war. _

He looked forward.

He understood.

A column-shaped light emerged from the ceiling, and a woman appeared on the floor, within the light. Max looked her up and down. Familiarity filled his being. Her hair was several feet longer than it had been eight years ago, and it was pulled back by a headband with a diamond-shaped jewel hanging at its middle, parted into two strands at the front. One of her gloved hands clutched a fan. Her skirt touched the floor and nearly covered her shoes. Although she looked different than she had eight years previous, love, joy, warmth spread throughout his body. He could not help but smile.

Her eyes passed over the group. "Doctor, this is…" Her eyes stopped on Max, and they widened. The boy looked incredibly familiar. His hair was styled similarly, yet the remainder of his physical features looked adult-like. He was several feet taller than he had been, and he wore a hat. Despite his twinkling eyes and boyish grin, she could see the determination in his features, especially his eyes, which Gerald had always said were as beautiful as her own. "Max? Is that Maximilian?"

Max stared at her. The group, save Yamcha, looked from Max, to Elena, and back.

"He looks like her for a reason," Buruma Jr. said.

Dr. Nobb faced Max. "You mean, this boy is Elena's son?"

"Yes…" Max whispered, his voice carrying a note of triumph.

"Then, that must mean…" Muten Roushi said.

Max stepped forward. "Mother, I haven't seen you, what, what happened? I mean, I'm so glad to see you." He resisted the urge to run to the column of light and embrace the hologram.

Elena's eyes softened. "I'm happy to see you too, Max." She gazed into his eyes for several moments. "Max, I'm sorry. I'll bet your father never told you what happened to me."

Max nodded. "That's right. But I, I've already figured some of it out on my own now." He glanced at Monica. "I already know you're from the future, and I know that you're part of this rebel army against Griffon."

"You're exactly right." Her expression softened further, and more warmth spread throughout Max's body. "You're as smart, no, smarter than I remember you." She wished she could embrace her son.

"But why did you come to the past in the first place?"

"It's all right, Max. I'll explain everything.

"Monica and I's, our time has changed greatly because of the destruction Griffon's caused."

Max flashed back to Monica's telling him about Griffon attacking her kingdom. "Yes. Monica's told me."

Elena's expression hardened, and Max's eyes widened. He had never seen his mother angry. "We couldn't let Griffon get away with it."

Her expression grew soft once more. Max's mouth opened, but he quickly closed it. He forced himself to concentrate, to memorize his mother's words.

"In response, the people of our time began to form a rebel army, the one I'm a part of."

"Are you okay?" Max blurted out. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Mother, but that sounds pretty dangerous. You don't get hurt a lot, do you?"

Elena's smile broadened. "I'm okay."

"Sorry, you must be pretty busy. I'll stop interrupting."

"You have every right to, Max." His mother straightened. An aura of professionalism surrounded her. "After we formed our rebel army, Griffon began to use the power of the stone, one of the fabled Atlamillia stones. They possess great power, power that can move the earth and control time.

"That's true," Monica said. "Griffon himself told me."

Dr. Nobb frowned further. "Wh-what? How?"

Scientists who performed their activities yet eavesdropped snapped their heads toward Monica.

Monica's eyes darted around the laboratory. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's not important right now. Please continue, Elena."

Elena stared at Monica for a moment and then returned her gaze to Max. "Griffon used that power to rewrite history bit by bit. He turned on people and erased their existence from history.

"Atlamillia are mysterious jewels that choose their owners. Legend has it that they only choose those of good heart."

Oolong snorted. "That's definitely not true."

Max shrugged. "You never know."

"Still clinging to your false beliefs?" Buruma said. "Oh, excuse me, your hunch?"

"Haven't we been over this before?" Monica said. "Griffon could be a good guy. There just might be something inside of him that's controlling him."

"What?" Elena said.

Monica scratched the back of her head. She told Elena about her, Max's, and Gokuu's encounters with Griffon, including her capture. When she finished, silence pervaded for several minutes. Scientists stared at Monica, their jaws slack, their bodies frozen, one scientist tilting a test tube beside a flask and allowing the blue liquid to pour onto the table. Dr. Nobb and Buruma Jr. stared at the trio. Dr. Nobb's eyes nearly protruded from his hair.

"I see," Elena said. "Your assumptions may have some truth to them. You'll find out for sure when you come face-to-face with him, since it seems as though he doesn't want to talk to you in your subconscious minds anymore. When you see him, everything should fall into place. Thanks to you, I have an idea of why the Atlamillia chose him, but it's not concrete. If you don't mind, I'll relay your information to Galen Agaris as soon as possible. He's the leader of the rebel army."

"Anything to help," Monica said. "I'll stop interrupting now, really. Please continue."

Elena nodded. "Back then, over fifteen years ago, we only knew that Griffon could use the power of that stone. For us to fight him, we needed one, too.

"Three Atlamillia exist in the world. Monica's already seen them all: the Earth Stone, which you have, Max, and emits a red light; the Sun Stone, Griffon's, which emits a yellow light; and the Moon Stone, which Monica currently possesses and emits a blue light."

"Moon Stone?" Gokuu snapped his fingers. "So that's why I turned into an ape that time." He turned to Max and Monica. "Remember when I first met you guys in the forest? Monica, since your Atlamillia looks like the moon, I turned into an ape."

"That makes sense," Monica said. "So I'll always have to keep your tail cut off, or else."

"Gokuu," Muten Roushi said through gritted teeth.

"Oops." Gokuu bowed. "I'm sorry for interrupting, Miss Max's Mother."

Elena smiled faintly. "It's all right. You said that your name is Son Gokuu, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. I have the four-star Dragonball. Griffon's after that, too."

Elena's eyes lit up. "Ah. We know of the Dragonballs as well. We were thinking of gathering the Dragonballs so we could wish for Griffon to disappear, but the Atlamillia took priority. Like the Atlamillia, Dragonballs can only exist in one timeline. We recently improved our Dragon Radar so that it could track the Dragonballs through different timelines. We noticed that Griffon collected six of them, and one appeared to be in Max's time. We were about to travel to Max's time and find it so we could guard it, but it seems that you all arrived here before we could. We're afraid that if Griffon gathers all seven, he'll wish for the entire world to be destroyed. Son Gokuu, you must guard that Dragonball well."

"I will. I'll definitely beat Griffon up if he tries to grab this. It's my grandpa's, and it's the only thing I have left of him."

Elena's smile broadened. "That's good motivation. It seems that the Atlamillia have taken priority with Griffon as well. He's going after the remaining two Atlamillia to increase his powers. We're not exactly sure why."

"I have a hunch that he's going to punish all humans because of one who betrayed him in the past," Monica said. "We'll have a definite answer once we see him. I promise, we'll squeeze every bit of information we can from him. Frankly, I'm sick of being in the dark."

"So am I, Monica." Elena gestured toward the laboratory. "I'm sure all of us are."

"Sorry. I keep interrupting, even after I said I wouldn't. Please continue."

Elena nodded. "We searched for the remaining stones; we had to get them before Griffon. First, we traced the owner of the blue stone, who was Monica's father, King Raybrandt. At first, we thought we could inherit the Atlamillia from King Raybrandt, but the stone wouldn't accept any one of us as its owner. We guarded King Raybrandt so that the stone would not fall into Griffon's hands. However, when Griffon attacked the kingdom that night, many of our guards fell." Her eyes softened. "Sorry, Monica."

"It's fine." She raised her wrist and stared at her reflection in the Atlamillia. "I have it now, and there's no way I'm letting Griffon get his hands on it."

"We looked for the last Atlamillia, the Earth Stone, but we couldn't find it because it didn't exist in our time. According to the prophecy of the great sage, Crest, the Earth Stone existed 115 years in the past. Its owner was a young boy called Gerald who had found it in Zelmite Mine, which was in a town called Palm Brinks. We knew that Griffon would use his powers to go back in time to find the Atlamillia. In order to protect it, I traveled to Gerald's time.

"During the time I was with Gerald…" A small smile appeared on her face, and her cheeks became pink. "I fell in love with him." Her expression softened further. "And then, Max, you were born.

"The first five years of your life went by in a flash. But then I had to return to my own time. Galen Agaris had informed me that the war against Griffon was intensifying. I said goodbye to you and your father."

His mother's goodbye was Max's most vivid memory.

* * *

_Elena, in Max's room, bent to Max's level. "Max, I have to leave now."_

_Max's smile did not fade. It hardly did while he was in his Mother's presence. His face remained colored a healthy peach. "Are you going to the bakery again, Mother?"  
_

_Elena laughed and shook her head. "Not this time. I'm going to do work far away from here."_

_Max cocked his head. "How far?"_

"_Very far. Farther than you can imagine. Outside-Palm-Brinks far."_

"_But how are you going outside Palm Brinks? The mayor closed the gate."_

"_I'm a special exception."_

"_Special… What does that mean? Why?"_

_Elena placed a finger to his lips. "Always asking questions. That's a good way to live, Maximilian. Keep that habit."_

"_But you're not answering my questions." His smile began to diminish. "Where are you going? Why are you going? If you're going far away, are you going on vacation without Father and I? You're not just leaving us, are you?"_

_Elena forced the tears back. Max had never seen her cry, and she would not allow his last sight of her be of her crying. "I must. I'm sorry, Max. You'll find out everything when you're older."_

"_Huh?"  
_

_His mother kissed him on the cheek and embraced him. Max slowly hugged her back. His heart grew heavy._

"_I love you, Max." She tightened her embrace. "I love you."_

_He tightened his embrace. "I, I love you too, Mother."_

_They hugged for what seemed to be an eternity. She released him, gazed into his eyes. Max blinked, yet he had a feeling that this would be the last time he would see her for a while, and he took a mental picture of her face. _

"_Stay strong, my son."_

_She turned, walked to the doorway, stood in it for some moments, smiling at Max, and disappeared._

* * *

Although he had memorized her face, Max had been unable to remember it three years after she left. He had felt a yearning, not only to see her face once more, but also to feel the warmth of her embrace.

"I haven't been able to see you since."

Silence pervaded for several minutes, in which Max mentally repeated every word his mother had said and memorized them. Mayor Need, Claire, Oolong, and Puar stared at Max expectantly.

"Why weren't you able to see me?" Max said.

Elena sighed. "It's not that I didn't want to see you. I couldn't."

"What do you mean?"

"Galen Agaris wouldn't permit me to see you. He said that I had to focus on the rebel army so that I could help save the world from Griffon's clutches. If I saw you or your father, I would become distracted, and that would have a negative impact on my work, as selfish as that sounds."

Max prevented his hands from balling into fists. "So this Galen Agaris was the one who kept you from seeing us."

"All for the greater good of everyone," Elena quickly said.

Max looked at the floor. "I see." He lifted his Atlamillia. "Monica, when you were telling Gokuu and I…"

Muten Roushi and the others surrounded them.

"You mentioned before that my father couldn't touch the Atlamillia anymore, so he gave it to me."

"That's right. He must've realized that the Atlamillia had chosen a new owner." She paused. "This may sound a little far-fetched, but I think the Atlamillia have an ability to predict the future."

"But it's impossible to predict the future…isn't it?" Donny ran a hand through his bangs. "Man, I can't tell what's heads or tails anymore."

"You mean, like they're alive or something?" Kuririn said.

"They're inanimate objects," Buruma said.

Max raised his Atlamillia. "I don't think these are just inanimate objects if they can choose their owners."

"Let her finish, guys," Osmond said.

"The Red Atlamillia chose Gerald first. It must've known that he would have a son who would restore the world and, to restore it successfully and completely, it chose Max so he would have a way to travel to the future and see the progress that was made. In other words, Gerald only held the Atlamillia until Max was born.

"Now, going off of that, Max's 'true history' theory may not be completely out of the ballpark. The Atlamillia's job is to create a new, complete, 'true' history, at least according to whatever their definition of a true history is. The Atlamillia's goal is to better the world."

Buruma placed a hand in her chin. "So Griffon might have been necessary to motivate humans to create a better future. If Griffon never existed, the Aeroharmonics technology would never have been perfected. Do you all think that the Atlamillia chose Max, Monica, and Griffon so that the future would be brighter?"

"Sounds the most logical right now," Max said.

Elena nodded. "They must be guiding people for the sake of something great."

As Max and Elena spoke, Monica thought about the human Griffon had loved, who had given him his true name and betrayed him, motivating him to kill all humans. He contained a being that had begun as, most likely, hate from the human's betrayal. He had been shown what appeared to be love, only to be shown that it was hate. Throughout their travels, the five had shown love and compassion to the monsters.

And Griffon had watched.

Monica looked up. "I think there's something more to it, guys. Maybe the Atlamillia chose us so we could show Griffon that not all humans are cunning and full of hate. There are some humans who show love and compassion towards others."

She looked down once more, tuning out Kuririn's, Buruma's, and Max's ramblings. Before her father's assassination, she had hardly seen anyone who resembled a non-human. Humans were the sole inhibitors of her kingdom, or so she thought. She had never questioned why.

Racism, which her father, her mother, herself had allowed, caused Dr. Jaming and Gaspard to join Griffon. Because of the amount of racism prevailing in her kingdom, the world had grown corrupt.

Monica had studied her kingdom's history so that she would not repeat any mistakes when she became queen. Humans had started wars over land and betrayed each other to gain material items. They had been merciless, tyrannous, and cruel, either because they could not accept those who were different or because they wanted to obtain gold and diamonds.

Griffon was not the only one who had destroyed the world. On multiple occasions, humans had, too.

The Atlamillia desired a better future, one in which humans were more compassionate than they once were. Perhaps Griffon's extermination was to destroy the animal-like humans and better the world. Perhaps that was the reason his Atlamillia had aided him.

However, she could not help but feel that there was more to the Atlamillia's reasoning.

Muten Roushi eyed Monica. He stepped closer and whispered, "Is something bothering you, miss?"

Monica bit her lip and nodded. "I, this isn't the time. It's not important, I mean."

Muten Roushi frowned. "I see. Whenever you're ready."

"…so we're proving to Griffon, time and time again, that humans aren't all that bad," Max finished.

The group heard an explosion from Elena's side, and the column around her ruptured in several places. She and the remainder of the group started.

Her image blurred. "I'm sorry. It looks like we haven't any more time to talk."

"B-but I just met you," Max said.

"I know, Max."

Max's eyebrows slanted downward. "But I can change that. Don't worry, Mother. We'll definitely be able to talk to each other in person. I'll make sure of that." He imagined her embrace. Warmth spread throughout his body. "Definitely."

Elena's expression softened. "Yes, we will."

"Just wait a little longer," Dr. Nobb said. "Max, Monica, Gokuu, and the others will go to Heim Rada in the past, restore it, and recreate Gundorada Workshop so Paznos will be built. With Paznos, we'll have a chance to fight back."

Max nodded. "Okay. Where's Heim Rada?"

"It's a village at the foot of Mount Gundor." Elena visualized the Red Dragons patrolling Mount Gundor, training against other monsters. "But Mount Gundor is a dangerous place." She placed a hand upon her heart. "I'm not sure if you…"

"We've gotten real strong thanks to Kamesennin's trainin'." Gokuu turned around. "See these on our backs? They're real heavy."

"The ones Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamcha and I are wearing weigh 200 pounds," Muten Roushi said, gesturing toward each of the boys. "The one Max is wearing weighs 100 pounds, and Monica's weighs about seventy."

Gokuu grinned. "We keep them on to train at all times. If we're ever in a pinch, we'll take them off, and we'll be guaranteed to win."

"Yes," Kuririn said. "Muten Roushi-sama is a great teacher. He's been practicing martial arts for over 100 years." He pounded his chest. "You can count on us, ma'am."

"That's right," Muten Roushi said. "You have no reason to worry, ma'am."

"Don't worry, Mother. I'll save you."

"Max…"

She did not worry.

She felt secure.

_This journey he's gone on has made him seem so reliable. Somehow, I feel safe with him just being here. _"Okay. Take care, all of you."

Elena faded, and the column retracted into the ceiling.

Max smiled and visualized his mother's face. He promised to visualize it periodically to ensure that it would not disappear from his memory again.

Dr. Nobb and Buruma Jr. faced the group.

"Hurry and head to Heim Rada," Dr. Nobb said, "and restore its origin point so Gundorada Workshop will be restored. That's where the rebellion army's ace-in-the-hole, Paznos, will be built."

"Paznos was the mobile stronghold of our rebel army," Monica said. "Griffon wiped Paznos and Gundorada Workshop out, but if we could bring them back, I bet we could make a counterattack."

"If Griffon is so powerful," Kuririn said, "couldn't he just destroy it again?"

"It's our only chance," Dr. Nobb said.

"Besides, I'm sure Griffon's beginning to have a change of heart," Monica said. "He might be attacking the west halfheartedly, and he might not even go all-out against Paznos."

Max turned toward the entrance. "Let's go to Mount Gundor."

The group ran up the ramp leading to the entrance, save Yamcha, who had stared at the floor for the duration of the group's discussion. Puar had poked him repeatedly, yet Yamcha had remained frozen. Buruma and Puar exchanged looks.

Puar floated to Yamcha's ear. "Yamcha-sama!"

Yamcha looked up. His face had paled, and bags had appeared beneath his eyes. "Yes?"

Puar floated a little ways backward.

"It looks like you've aged a few years," Buruma said.

"Wouldn't you?" Yamcha's voice was devoid of emotion.

Buruma turned to her great-grandchild. "Now, did you really have to go and destroy his spirit?"

Buruma Jr. winked. "He could always change his future."

Yamcha's face brightened. "That's right. That's right." He pointed to her. "You don't have to happen, my beatings don't have to happen, none of it has to happen. I can train harder, beat all those guys you said beat me, and take much greater care of my relationship with Buruma. Let's go!" He ran toward the group. Dr. Nobb and Buruma Jr. smiled.

"You're a lot nicer than your great-grandmother," Puar said.

Buruma swiped a hand at him. He floated sideways so that her hand passed beside him, saying, "Eep!" He floated toward Yamcha. Buruma chased him and swiped her hand repeatedly. Puar darted in all directions, dodging her hand.

Dr. Nobb grinned at Buruma Jr. She returned the grin.

Max tuned out every sound around him. He would see his mother again. He would not allow Griffon to hurt her.


	50. Griffon's Army

**Chapter Fifty: Griffon's Army**

If Max had not seen his mother moments before, he would have been more excited about visiting a new area. He had never seen or climbed a mountain. Although climbing would be strenuous, he would do so as fast as possible. He would never forgive anyone who hurt his mother.

Upon returning to the past, Max ran to the edge of the pier and looked at the sea and the fish swimming throughout. It would be the last time he would see them for a while. Monica and Gokuu stepped beside him.

Gokuu placed his hands on the ropes before him. "Max, we've gotten real strong. We'll save your mother no matter what. Monica completely won that fight against Gaspard after she took her shell off. I know we'll win against the Red Dragons, too."

Max clenched his hands into fists. "Yeah. Definitely." His hands opened, and his shoulders fell. "And hopefully, after all this is over, Mother can come back"—A smile crept onto his face—"and she can take me to the beach like she promised."

Monica's eyes softened, and she frowned. She looked at the sea, her bangs hiding her expression from Max.

"Let's go." Max turned toward the cave leading to Veniccio Station. "There's no time to lose."

"Shouldn't we let Pau know we're leaving?" Kuririn said.

"I'll tell him," Claire said. "Go save your mother, Max."

"Thanks, Claire. We will."

"Good luck, you all," Donny said.

"Thanks."

The group, save Claire and Donny, entered Veniccio Station. Cedric, Borneo, Erik, and Gerald stood before the Blackstone One.

Max looked toward the front of the train. "How's that bridge?"

"We finished the repairs ages ago, guys," Borneo said.

He ran toward the train's door. "Then let's go to Mount Gundor."

Cedric studied Max. "You sound a little desperate, Max. Why don't you tell us what happened during the train ride?"

He nodded as he opened the door. "Okay."

The group entered the train and sat in the car behind the front one. They explained what had transpired to Cedric, Borneo, Erik, and Gerald. Gerald's expression remained neutral; however, Max noticed a smile tug at his lips.

When they finished, Cedric said, "So, you finally found your mother."

"Yeah."

The train tilted upward. Mountains appeared in the distance, and the ground browned, resembling dirt. Embers passed the window. Buruma's eyebrows furrowed.

_That's not supposed to happen, is it? _She opened the window and poked out her head. Embers rained from the sky. One touched her nose, and she nearly yelped, withdrawing her head from the outside. She slammed the window and looked at the others. They did not pay attention to her.

Gerald allowed himself to smile. "I'm glad."

"So am I, Father."

Gerald settled into his seat and breathed deeply.

Max smiled. _If he's like this after just being told about Mother, imagine how he'd be if he actually saw her. _"I'll definitely let you see Mother right after we save her."

Gerald's expression hardened. "Don't inconvenience your mother at all."

"I'm sure everything'll work out somehow, whether we have to go to the future or she has to come to the past. We may even have to wait after this Griffon issue's dealt with. But we'll both see Mother in person again, no matter what happens. I promise."

Gerald's eyes widened. He stared at Max for some seconds. Then, his expression softened. "Sounds like a promise you'll be able to keep."

* * *

An army of Griffon Soldiers, turtle shells on their backs, bowed before Griffon in the garden.

"Do not lose sight of your mission," Griffon said, "and do not fail me."

"Yes, sir," the Soldiers said in unison.

Griffon closed his eyes. He repeatedly visualized the Soldiers disappearing and reappearing in Mount Gundor. "Go."

The Soldiers disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

Griffon leaned against the back of his throne and sighed. Like him, Monica was beginning to have a change of heart. The Griffon Soldiers would solidify her new beliefs.

_And what will that do?_

Griffon frowned at the Dark Element's voice. _Shouldn't you know?_

_I don't. Tell me. _

…_It'll weaken her. She'll pity me, and she'll be easier to kill. _

He played with his fingers. _I'm a bit worried about Max, though. He's become considerably stronger emotionally thanks to seeing his mother. Both of us know what humans are capable of when they're driven by emotions._

_Worrying is a waste of both mine and your energy._ The Dark Element snickered._ I'm much more powerful than any being on this earth. I will lend you my power, and you will kill him. You will kill all of them after you take the Atlamillia._

_Yes. I must make the humans pay._

_And if you don't…_

_I know._

The Dark Element moaned in approval. Griffon imagined a grin spreading on its face.

Even though he had stopped playing with his hands, they trembled. He forced them to still.

* * *

The Blackstone One screeched to a halt beside an ashen-laden mountain, and the group disembarked. Raining embers stung the group's skin. Oolong winced with each ember that touched him.

"Monica, does it normally rain like this here?" Gokuu said as Borneo and Erik walked to the train's front and examined it.

Monica outstretched her arms. She quickly crossed them. "No, never. Something is definitely up."

Puar darted in all directions in an attempt to dodge the embers. "These hurt pretty badly."

"Wonder what would happen if I stuck out my tongue." Kuririn chuckled.

"Why don't you try and tell us the results?" Yamcha said.

"Are you really supposed to be trying to hurt me right now? You still owe me for saving you from that Auntie Medusa."

"I wanna try it."

Everyone's heads whipped toward Gokuu, who stuck out his tongue.

"Gokuu, are you crazy?" Monica said. "Put your tongue back in your mouth."

An ember touched his tongue, and Gokuu yelped, jumping backward. His shell and head banged against the train. "It _burns!_" He slid his hands over his tongue repeatedly. "Dr. Dell's medicine, go get it!"

Monica's shoulders slumped. "I can't help but wonder what you expected the embers to do."

Buruma placed her hands on her hips. "Gokuu, close your mouth."

Gokuu reeled in his tongue and closed his mouth. "That's better."

Buruma looked at her bare hands. "I hope these embers don't leave any marks. I'd hate for my perfect skin to be ruined."

"So would I," Yamcha said.

Buruma glared at him.

"I-I'd love you no matter what."

Buruma stared at him for a moment. She then looked at the path that tilted upward. "Is that where Heim Rada is?"

"Yeah," Monica said. "It should be at the foot of Mount Gundor, but it probably got wiped out too."

"So we'll have to restore it," Max said. "Let's go."

"Be careful, you all." Gerald panted for some seconds. "It's much harder to breathe here than in Veniccio. Pace yourselves."

"We will, Father."

"There's nothing much we can do this time," Borneo said, "so we'll just take it easy on the train."

"If you need any help with anything," Erik said, "just let us know."

Monica waved. "You bet."

* * *

The group arrived at the top of the hill. Buruma wheezed.

"D-did you really have to run so fast?" she said.

"Griffon or Gaspard might hurt my mother if I don't hurry."

Monica stopped beside Max. "Don't put this all on yourself, Max. We're here to help."

"And we won't slow you down," Kuririn said.

Max looked around. "Where's the entrance to Mount Gundor?"

Monica stepped before him. He continued to look around.

"Do you know, Monica?"

Monica placed her hands on his forearms. He looked into her eyes.

"I know I'm not the best person to hear this from, but relax. If you don't, you'll actually slow down. You think more clearly when you're calm."

Max closed his eyes and exhaled. "Yeah."

"I know how worried you are. I've been through it before. You can't let them get to you."

Max nodded. "Right. If I do, that means they've won."

A shadow passed over them, and a whirring noise shook their bodies. They looked up. Gaspard's battleship passed over Mount Gundor.

"That must be him," Monica said. "What's he up to this time?"

Max gritted his teeth. "Gaspard must be hopping mad that we've been restoring all the origin points. He must be causing these falling embers to give us a harder time."

"From now on," Buruma said, "I can't use wood and straw buildings. These embers'll burn them up." She smirked. "Did he forget about our iron and brick houses?"

Monica shook her head. "Gaspard wouldn't overlook something like that. There has to be something else."

"Maybe it has to do with Gundorada Workshop in general," Max said. "Gaspard must be using some kind of machine to make these embers fall. If the machine isn't destroyed, the embers will persist into future, and maybe Gundorada Workshop won't be able to be completely restored as long as they do."

Monica watched the embers touch the ashen ground. "So we have to find and destroy that machine. Knowing Gaspard, it'll be in Mount Gundor." She looked forward. "All right. We'll be back with a few Geostones in a little bit, Buruma."

"Okay. Good luck out there."

The five ran toward Mount Gundor, dodging the geysers, which dotted the ground and released smoke periodically.

Max looked around. The town was colored brown. To their right was a path leading to hot springs.

_I wonder what kind of fish live in those waters. Do fish live in them at all?_

The sky was dark, and the sun shone dimly. He wondered how those who lived in Heim Rada knew when morning had arrived.

Monica noticed Max staring at the sky. "It's from pollution. The people who lived here were quite attached to their machines. The smoke from their machines combined with the smoke and ash from Mount Gundor caused the sky to be like that. That's why it's so hard to breathe here, too. The air will thin the farther we climb up Mount Gundor, too, making breathing even more difficult."

Yamcha sighed. "Wonderful."

The path tilted upward as the five approached Mount Gundor. The embers ceased.

"Remember, guys," Monica said, "the Red Dragons'll be waiting for us."

Gokuu grinned. "We're ready for 'em."

"Don't be overconfident, Gokuu. They're much more dangerous than the normal Dragons we faced in Starlight Canyon."

As the five continued to run up the winding path, the ground became rockier, and the walls became taller.

Kuririn wiped sweat from his brow. "Is it getting really hot, or is it just my imagination?"

"It's not just you." Sweat fell down Yamcha's face and dampened his back. "Geez, I feel like I'm melting."

"This is a volcano, guys," Monica said. "The farther up we go, the cooler it should get. Then, we'll reach the peak and the path'll go down sharply. That's when it'll get really hot. This area will seem like winter compared to the mouth."

Their breathing and footfalls provided background noise until they arrived at a large geyser, on which a rock lay. The ground quaked.

Kuririn readied himself to run in every direction. "Another snake monster?"

"They don't live here," Monica said. "That's just the geyser."

Smoke emerged from the geyser and lifted the rock into a cragged tunnel.

Monica pointed to the geyser. "This is how we get from one floor to the next."

Kuririn's eyes widened. He looked from the rock, to Monica, and back. "But, what?"

"It's a little dangerous and might be kinda complicated, so I'll demonstrate."

Monica hopped onto the geyser and bent onto one knee. The ground trembled. The geyser projected smoke, and Monica and the rock were launched into the air. The boys gathered underneath and watched.

For some seconds, she passed through a tunnel. The rock stopped its flight near the surface. She jumped off the rock and into light. Her feet touched a small hill that led to a flat path.

Monica peered over the hole's edge. The rock hovered for some seconds and then returned to the geyser, revealing the boys' faces. "That's what you have to do. You guys might wanna hold on tight, too. The rock won't reach the surface, so when it stops, you'll have to jump, no matter how far beneath the surface you are. It wouldn't be good if you kept holding on after it stopped. Trust me."

"Got it. I'll go next." Max jumped onto the rock and gripped his cap. Smoke lifted him and the rock. His surroundings blurred as he passed jagged edges of the mountain. When the rock stopped, he jumped, flailing. He landed facedown, and his cap rolled off.

He attempted to stand yet faltered onto his hands. "I'll, I'll get used to that."

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha exchanged looks.

"I'll go." Kuririn jumped onto the rock. He and the rock shot into the air. He hollered, his eyes closed. The rock stopped, and he jumped. Light pierced his eyelids, and he opened his eyes. He fell on his stomach and then tumbled down the hill, onto his feet. He smiled wryly.

"Nice recovery," Monica said.

Kuririn's cheeks became pink. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that."

Gokuu and Yamcha watched the rock plug the geyser.

"Me next." Gokuu jumped onto the rock. The smoke ejected the rock. He grinned as wind whipped his face and whistled in his ears.

When the rock stopped, he leaped. He landed on his feet behind Max, Monica, and Kuririn, faced them, and made a peace sign.

"Best landing I've seen so far," Monica said.

Kuririn narrowed his eyes at Gokuu.

Yamcha jumped onto the rock. The smoke propelled them upward. Once the rock neared the surface, he jumped. His flight ceased near the top of the tunnel, and his hands scrambled to grip the edge. He grabbed a protruding rock a little ways beneath the surface. He thrust his body upward so that his feet pointed in the air and swung them onto the ground. He twisted the remainder of his body upright. The rock passed him.

"Good thing that didn't hit me." Yamcha ran a hand through his hair. "That probably would've taken out my handsome face."

"Are those the kinds of things you worry about?" Monica said.

Max watched the rock fall down the tunnel. "Does the rock sometimes pass the surface?"

"That's right. How far the rock goes varies. You'll just have to stay on your toes." She looked over the boys. "I'm glad all of us got here in one piece."

Kuririn appeared to shrink. "Y-you mean that something could've gone wrong?"

"Well, yeah."

Kuririn paled, and Max's eyebrows slanted downward.

She shook her hands before her body. "But something can go wrong in anything you do in life, when you think about it." She chuckled.

"Hopefully, none of you don't mind me asking," Yamcha said, "but what could've gone wrong?"

Monica narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Do you really wanna know?"

Yamcha bit his lip and nearly stepped back. He straightened. "O-of course. That's why I asked, after all."

"For one thing, the rock may not have gone far enough, and you may have fallen on the ground incredibly hard. I know some guys from Gundorada Workshop who've ended up in the hospital because of that. If you stayed on the rock instead of jumping off, you would've gone splat. The rock also could've waved around while it was in the air instead of going in a straight line, and your bodies could've scraped against the wall. Yeah, I'll leave what happens to skin to your imagination."

Kuririn scrunched his face.

"Another tip." Monica smirked at Kuririn. "You might want to keep your eyes open."

Kuririn blushed and averted his gaze to the wall as Yamcha laughed.

She faced the path before them. Smoke continuously shot into the air in the gap between the ground and the jagged wall. "Anyway, we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's go."

The five began to run through the floor. After some seconds, five Griffon Soldiers entered their views. They stood near a dead end, conversing with one another in low voices. Shells lay on their backs. The five slid to a stop.

Kuririn pointed to the shells. "Those look like Muten Roushi-sama's shells."

"How'd they get a hold of them?" Gokuu said. "Did they come to our time and steal them from Kamesennin?"

"He would've killed them all pretty quickly. Muten Roushi-sama's much stronger than them."

"I'm guessing that since Griffon saw how much stronger I was without the shell, he decided to make his own shells. He's trying to make them as strong as we are."

Gokuu wound up his arm. "Nice. An even fight."

"If we're in danger," Kuririn said, "you'll call your Ridepod, right Max?"

"Max, I'm not sure if the Ridepod'll be able to come up here," Monica said. "I'm pretty sure that rock isn't strong enough to carry him."

"Don't worry. If we need Steve, he'll find a way to us."

Yamcha watched the Griffon Soldiers continue to talk. "They're distracted. Let's get the jump on them."

The five charged toward the Griffon Soldiers. The Griffon Soldiers whirled around to face them.

"They're here," one said.

Monica's eyes widened. _Now they sound human. They sure didn't before._

When she reached one, her Claymore clashed against his spear-like arm, and sparks hit Monica's face and the Soldier's mask.

"We've been waiting for your arrival," the Soldier said. "We've been meaning to talk to you all."

"Excuse me?"

The Griffon Soldier thrust her backward, and she stumbled.

_They're much stronger than they used to be._

_Remember your mission._

The Griffon Soldiers released their weapons from the Digi Hammer, the Claymore, legs, and fists. They leaped so that they were some yards away from the five and lowered their weapons. The five remained tense.

"Emperor's orders."

Max and Monica kept their weapons raised, and Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha maintained battle stances.

"He wanted us to tell you our stories."

Max visualized his mother reading him a bedtime story. "Stories?"

The Griffon Soldier nodded. "We are human, contrary to popular belief. We joined Griffon of our own accord. Crest told you that we were evil from the beginning, did she?" He snorted. "To put it plainly, she's wrong."

Monica glared. "The great sage is never wrong."

"Uh, she's human. Humans make mistakes. That's like saying certain people are born evil and others aren't. That's not how the world works."

Monica blinked, her expression remaining the same.

"The world does teach us how to hate, however." He gestured to the other Soldiers. "We were all ostracized by humans for one reason or another. Personally, I was born with only a stub for an arm." A grin that his mask covered spread on his face. "Then, when I turned eighteen, Lord Gaspard asked me if I wanted to join his army. He explained what the emperor's goal was and that only good could come from it. I agreed. I would do anything to make those who gave me hell suffer more."

Monica's grip on her Claymore loosened. It quickly tightened. _Griffon could be making them lie to weaken us. _

"Do you really think we're lying?"

Monica nearly stepped back.

"Who would lie about being tortured? Why would we lie about being tortured? We all have our reasons for joining Griffon. Didn't you want to know why?"

Monica frowned further. _Was Griffon reading my mind in Ocean's Roar Cave?_

Another Soldier gestured toward the other Soldiers. "Lord Gaspard asked the rest of us to join his army. A lot of our stories are the same. I'm blind in one eye. The others have defects or are some kind of hybrid between a human and another creature, like Lord Gaspard."

Monica's eyes softened.

"Joining Griffon's army is so much better than staying behind to be bullied."

"Or so other people can be afraid of us." A Soldier unequipped his ankle brace. Coarse hair covered his ankle. "As you can see, some parts of my body are furry. People ran away from me because they confused me with a monster. Either that, or they attacked me."

"None of us had any friends. The ones we made…the other humans persuaded them that we were demons or monsters."

The Soldier reequipped his brace. "We couldn't control the defects that we were born with or the parents we were born to. My father was a demon-type monster. He had gray skin, pointed ears, fangs, fur, every monster-like feature."

Another Soldier pointed at Monica. "You're Princess Monica, aren't you? Your father didn't care about those who appeared to be half-human or had physical defects. He either ignored them or made fun of them in his public addresses."

Max eyed Monica, whose eyes moved to the ground.

"Yeah, didn't he say something like, 'Every single monster deserves to be slain' and 'Monsters don't deserve to live alongside humans'?"

"I think he said that monsters are game for humans and that humans should kill and cook monsters."

Monica nearly dropped her sword. She had stood with her father while he had delivered those addresses and applauded when he finished.

"I don't think any of his guards are half-human. I'm half-human, and I applied to be one of his castle guards. After I sent in my application, he hand-wrote a letter saying that he wanted to interview me—said I had one of the best applications he'd seen and that he'd be willing to make me one of his personal bodyguards. Then he saw me in person for the interview. He kinda glared at me the whole time, and he kept his hand near his sword's hilt. After the interview, he told me I'd hear back in a little while. I never did."

"Your mother's way too quiet for us to tell," another said, "but I bet she feels that way about us. I've heard she's not too fond of violence."

Monica bit her lip and nodded. Her mother had avoided anyone resembling a monster and did not reference them in her few addresses to the kingdom. Monica had not mentioned them either.

_It seems like I'll have to do a lot of apologizing from now on_. She lowered her Claymore. "On behalf of my father and my kingdom, I'm sorry for your torture. We will release a kingdom-wide apology soon, and we will release another once Griffon is defeated and I return to the future for good. I promise that nothing of the sort will happen again. We will compensate you for your troubles."

A Soldier shook his head. "That won't be necessary. What Griffon's going to do will be much better than what _you're_ going to do."

Monica's expression hardened. "Do you even know what Griffon's true goal is?"

"No, but we have faith in him. He and Lord Gaspard were the only ones who showed concern and interest in us. The emperor gave us power, and we were able to slaughter many of those who hurt us." The Soldier licked his upper lip. "They apologized when they were moments away from dying. For that, we owe him our lives."

Monica raised her Claymore. "No, you don't. I guarantee that whatever it is, what Griffon's up to isn't good. He's so powerful, why does he need you all?"

The Soldiers stared at the five. Monica wished she could see their facial expressions.

"Griffon was there for us. You and your father weren't. That's all."

The Soldiers ran toward the five, their hands raised.

Monica gripped her Claymore, and her knuckles whitened. "Ignorant…"

She leaned sideways, dodging a Soldier's piercing blow. "Listen to me." She swayed in different directions as the Soldier attempted to stab and slice her. "You all should be on our side. As far as I know, Griffon wants revenge because of a human who betrayed him. He wants to punish all humans."

"You don't know that."

"I don't. But Gaspard captured me and took me to Griffon's time, and I saw Griffon myself. He said that a human gave him his true name. I have a hunch that that human betrayed him."

"You don't know that for sure."

Monica swung her Claymore, and it clashed against the Soldier's arms. The sparks brightened her face. "You're right. But you don't know what Griffon's planning, either. At least I'm making an educated guess."

The Soldier thrust his arm. Monica thrust back.

"Do you all know how that human betrayed him?"

"No." The Soldier released his hands from her Claymore. He slashed toward her neck, and she leaned her head back. His arm sliced the air. "The emperor would never tell us what happened to make him turn on all humans, but we don't need to know. We're all very happy to be part of the emperor's cause."

"Cause?"

The Soldier's arm grazed her cheek. A cut formed.

"Is that what you think it is?" Blood pooled to the cut's surface. "What are you trying to prove? How are you trying to improve the world? Because last I checked, destroying the world wasn't the same as improving it." The blood ran down her cheek, to her chin, and dripped onto the ground.

"Humans must be wiped out. A world without humans is an improvement." The Soldier stabbed toward her heart. Monica parried his arm.

The Soldier slashed, and the Claymore clanked against his arm. They pushed against each other.

"You don't have to do that. We can improve the world. We can make small changes first by discouraging racism and any type of bullying. We can start punishing people who discriminate. We can put them behind bars. We can address everyone in the kingdom and educate them about defects and half-humans. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I'm very influential, and a lot of people, especially kids, look up to me. If I'm with you, we can convince everyone to stop hurting each other. It might take a long time to eliminate most of the negativity in this world, but that doesn't mean it's impossible."

The Soldier stepped forward. Monica tightened her grip on her Claymore and ground her feet.

"Negativity will always exist," the Soldier said. "Who's to say that someone won't be hurt as badly as the emperor? They could become the next Emperor Griffon."

"Unfortunately, we can't eliminate all the racism and bullying. I hate to say it, but it's impossible. Even if we outlawed any form of racism—segregation, discrimination—that doesn't mean that it'll stop completely. There are still some instances that will slip under our noses."

The Soldier stepped forward once more, causing Monica to lean back. "Incompetence."

Monica stepped forward, forcing the Soldier to take two steps back. "It's not incompetence. That just means that there will always be ignorance in the world."

She loosened her grip on her sword and swung herself sideways. The Soldier stumbled forward. He swiveled around to face Monica, who charged her Destruction Brassard. She launched multiple fireballs. The Soldier guarded, and the fireballs exploded on its arms but did not cause them to burst into flames.

The Soldier jumped toward her, his hands raised. Monica glanced behind herself. She stood inches away from the pit. She crossed her Claymore across her body and allowed the Soldier's arms to scrape against it.

"I don't want to kill you."

"Now that you know I'm human?"

Monica winced. "I-it's not that. I just, I want to prove to you how sorry I am, that I'll make everything up to you. I'll do more than Griffon ever has for you."

_You know what happens when you defy me._

The Soldier gritted his teeth. One Soldier had decided not to align with Griffon any longer: He believed Griffon did not need him, that there were so many Soldiers, he was not a valuable asset to the army. The Soldier thought Griffon did not care about him.

Griffon monitored the Soldiers' thoughts and, when he discovered those thoughts pervading the Soldier's mind, he removed it. The Soldier became a drone, one that could only respond, "Yes, sir…" and "No, sir..." He became an it, a robot that did solely what Griffon commanded it.

He would rather lose all his limbs than lose his mind.

"No, you won't." He gathered energy in his arms, and a green aura appeared around them. He thrust. Monica stumbled back, her Claymore releasing itself from the Soldier.

Monica straightened. The Soldier panted, his arms raised.

"You don't know that. Please join us."

The Soldier began to slip his shell's straps off his shoulders.

Monica gasped. _He's going to… _She charged forward, pointing her Claymore toward the Soldier. The Soldier attempted to thrust a spear toward her, but the position of the straps prevented him from outstretching his arms as far as necessary. Monica jabbed her sword into his heart. She withdrew it and stepped backward. The Soldier fell before her feet.

Monica stared at the Soldier. His half-unequipped shell appeared to crush its body.

* * *

Max swung his hammer into the Soldier's stomach, and the Soldier exhaled sharply. He sliced his spear down Max's face, leaving a line from the top-middle of his forehead to the bottom of his chin. Max narrowed his eyes.

Max pushed, and the Soldier stepped back. The Soldier slashed his arms toward Max's sides. Max withdrew his hammer and then swung toward the Soldier's head. His spears grazed Max's sides. His hammer crushed the Soldier's head. The Soldier crashed onto the wall and tumbled down the gap.

He looked at Monica, who stared at a fallen Soldier. Her Claymore dripped with blood.

He ran to her. "Monica?"

She stared at the Soldier a moment longer and then looked at him. Creases lined her face, and her eyes were red with tiredness.

Max blinked, his eyes wide. "D-don't worry. We'll find a way to save everyone who's fallen under Griffon's clutches."

"It's not just that, Max. This is my fault, too." She placed a hand on her eyes and rubbed them. "I'm so sleepy…"

Max averted his gaze. He looked at her once more. "We'll make it up to them somehow. Let's keep restoring the world, and I'm sure some kind of opportunity will come up."

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha ran to them.

"We all got ours." Gokuu pointed to the three remaining Soldiers, who lay, crumpled.

Monica's eyes passed over the boys.

"Are you okay, Monica?" Kuririn said. "You look…different."

Monica looked at the Soldiers who Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha had defeated. She turned and began to run farther into the floor.

Max ran after her. "Monica."


	51. Broken

**Chapter Fifty-one: Broken**

A smirk spread on Griffon's face. He had finally broken one.

He could not reciprocate all the pain he had undergone, but her emotional break was a considerable victory; if he could break someone as strong as Monica, he could break any of them.

He sat against his throne's back and placed a hand on his chin. They valued friendship deeply because they had never been bullied, including Gokuu, a monster with a tail. He was surrounded by friends.

_Why is he the only exception?_

Perhaps a personality trait had attracted others to Gokuu. His naivety? His helpfulness? His unselfishness?

His physical strength had enabled him to protect. Griffon had been unable to protect Alexandra.

He scowled and clenched his hands into fists.

_You will become strong enough to kill them all. Protecting is not your priority. Vengeance is._

_Right. I can't forget my true goal. _His nails dug into his hands, and blood dripped from them. _I will never forget._

* * *

Max was the first to meet Monica and run alongside her. Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha followed suit as he opened his mouth.

"You don't have to say anything." Monica stared ahead, her eyes red. "But thanks for trying to comfort me."

Max looked at the ground.

"I'm making you guys worry an awful lot, aren't I?"

"Well, yeah," Kuririn said. "You haven't been all right since your fight against Gaspard. And what happened with the Griffon Soldiers made you even worse."

The five's footfalls provided background noise for some seconds.

"From now on," she said, "let's not kill anyone unless it's absolutely necessary. By that, I mean we kill only if we can't convince them that we're trying to restore the world and make up for our mistakes."

"I think I understand," Gokuu said. "You want us to talk instead of fight."

"Yes. And be persuasive."

"Okay, I got it."

"Me too," Max said.

"Me three," Kuririn said.

"And I make four," Yamcha said.

Monica smiled, and her eyes' redness diminished slightly. "Thanks, guys."

"Remember," Max said, "we can still save the monsters from the Red Dragons."

She frowned. _The Red Dragons… _

The Red Dragons, most likely, forced the monsters to fight humans, similar to the Dragons in Starlight Canyon. The Red Dragons might have seen humans pollute Heim Rada and Mount Gundor, causing them to believe that all humans destroyed nature.

_Maybe we can negotiate with them, too. But we haven't even seen the Red Dragons yet. Wouldn't they be the first to know if humans came here?_

"Don't you guys think it's kinda weird that we haven't seen any of the Red Dragons yet?" she said.

"Yeah, that's pretty strange," Max said. "The monsters in Starlight Canyon said that the Red Dragons visit the normal Dragons every year. They might have left already."

Monica rubbed her forehead. "I really hope not."

Max stared at Monica, his mouth ajar. Words could no longer comfort her.

* * *

Since the trio's leave, Barga and the condor had watched Starlight Canyon grow into a lively area. Different types of monsters conversed with one another daily. The Smiling Fairies invited others to their village for dinner, and the Rams shared their meat.

The Golems had placed several rules in the canyon, such as "Don't talk over another monster," "Don't put your hands on another monster unless you're sparring or training," and "Don't take the animals' food or attack them at all."

"Kind of juvenile, don't you think?" Barga had said as she and the condor flew above the canyon.

Lin, who sat on the condor, had said, "Whatever keeps the canyon running smoothly."

The monsters were unaware of Lin's identity as a human. She explored Starlight Canyon as a Ram and, aside from some monsters observing that she "smelled kinda human-y," they did not suspect she was human. Lin had told the monsters that smelled her (after mustering all the willpower in her being to prevent herself from slapping them) that she occasionally accompanied Max, Monica, and Gokuu before they had gone to Veniccio.

"Their scents must've gotten onto me somehow," she had said.

She had told Barga and the condor that her disguise was critical to become a great sage. Knowing monsters' behavior would enable her to understand them (from what she had gathered, the monsters smelled others to discover where they had been, which she thought was incredibly nosy). Understanding all living creatures would better her understanding of the world; when the time came to protect, she would be able.

However, she could not protect the monsters from this disturbance.

Barga and the condor sat on their perches, watching all monsters from Starlight Canyon cower before the Red Dragons, which demanded to know the Dragons' location. The monsters remained silent, some of their eyes darting everywhere except the Red Dragons' bodies. Others appeared to be frozen, staring at the Red Dragons.

A Duke Balloon peeked at the Red Dragons from the inside of its Yo-yo Barrel. They would slaughter the monsters and humans whether or not the monsters answered.

"We will ask once more. If you do not answer this time, we will kill you."

"Won't you kill us anyway?" a Ram said. Another Ram jammed its meat into its mouth.

Out of the corner of its eyes, the Duke Balloon watched some monsters back away. _Surely, they know that they cannot run away from these brutes._

"Where are our brethren?"

The Red Dragon's voice echoed throughout the canyon, and monsters cringed, including the Golems at the back of the crowd. Neither they nor the Red Dragons knew of the Ram that stood behind the Golems, hidden from all.

The Duke Balloon stood, exposing its body fully. "The humans killed them."

The Red Dragons and monsters glared at the Duke Balloon. The Duke Balloon's terror fixed its gaze upon the Red Dragons, preventing it from scowling at the monsters' ungratefulness for prayerfully saving their lives.

"Why? How? Why did you not kill them yourselves?" A Red Dragon growled and stepped forward. The Duke Balloon scrambled against the back of its barrel. Several monsters appeared to shrink.

"W-we were too weak, sir. Some of our own were killed in less than five seconds thanks to them."

"They even k-killed the Ballalas," a Heat Fairy said.

A Red Dragon's eyes narrowed. "Fine. We will find and kill them. Where are they?"

"Veniccio," a Masked Tribesman said.

Not nearly as monsters that had glared at the Duke Balloon glared at the Masked Tribesman. _How despicable._

"We will train you all so that no human ever takes advantage of you again. Some of us will remain here while others return to Mount Gundor and ensure that the monsters have not started a rebellion of some sort, although I doubt they have." The Red Dragon smiled wryly. "We have trained them well."

All monsters stared at the Red Dragons, wide-eyed.

"On our way to Mount Gundor, we shall fly over Veniccio and see if the humans are there. If not, we will assume they are in Mount Gundor."

The Red Dragons nodded at one another. Half of the army flew over the canyon wall. The remainder turned so that their backs faced the monsters.

"Come."

The Red Dragons took to the air and flew toward the wall over a mile away. The monsters, save a Ram, chased them.

Barga shook her head. "What a shame."

* * *

A Stick Joe and Rifle Wolf entered the five's views. The five stopped.

"Who wants to take these guys on?" Yamcha said.

Monica lowered her Claymore. "Remember what I said earlier? We're supposed to talk instead of fight."

"Then how are we gonna make sure we're strong enough to fight the Red Dragons?" Gokuu said.

"If they're as steadfast in serving the Red Dragons as Griffon's soldiers were, then they'll want to kill us, which means we'll have to kill them. They don't deserve to die because of the Red Dragons' raci—beliefs."

"So, what should we do?" Max said. "We need to get the Geostones to restore Paznos as soon as possible."

Monica nodded. "I know. We have to save the west." She faced the boys. "Let's split up. Since we're the only ones who can ride Kintoun, Max, Gokuu, and I will head to Starlight Canyon. The Red Dragons might be beating up the monsters there for not keeping humans away."

Yamcha glared at the Stick Joe and Rifle Wolf. "Or they could've sold us out to keep their own butts safe."

Monica's shoulders slumped. "Now that you mention it, that sounds like something they would do."

"You guys really think they'd do that to us after all we've done for them?" Gokuu said.

Monica smiled faintly at him. "That's how the world works."

"What will you do against the Red Dragons?" Kuririn said.

"We'll try to negotiate with them. If that doesn't work, we'll fight them. I think we'll be able to defeat them with the monsters' help. Hopefully, they help us." Her face brightened. "And Lin'll be there. She'll definitely use her magic to help, too." Her face brightened once more. "The condors might even help us."

"Sounds good." Max placed a hand on his chin. "So, while we're checking up on the monsters in Starlight Canyon, Kuririn and Yamcha could stay here just in case the Red Dragons come back. We should chance an attack from them."

"Right. All of us need to be prepared to fight. Kuririn, Yamcha, you two keep the Red Dragons away from the monsters."

Kuririn stumbled back. "Y-y-y-you're gonna make _us_ fight those guys?"

"Don't be so scared." Yamcha punched and kicked air. "If worse comes to worst, we can take these shells off, and there's always Muten Roushi."

Sweat rolled down Kuririn's forehead and his face. "Oh, man, b-b-but the way you all talked about the normal Dragons, they sounded so brutal. Th-th-the Red Dragons…"

"Don't get scared now, Kuririn." Monica smiled. "I'm sure you'll be fine. After all, you're incredibly strong. You've saved me a few times."

A grin crept on Kuririn's face, yet he continued to sweat profusely. "Y-yeah. Yeah, that's right." He chuckled.

Gokuu called Kintoun. Kintoun seemed to appear beside him. "I don't think Kamesennin'll mind if I ride Kintoun. It's an emergency, after all."

The trio hopped on, Gokuu in front, Monica in the middle, and Max behind her. Monica wrapped her arms around Gokuu's waist as she said, "Kintoun, go as fast as possible."

Kintoun launched into the air, and Max's cap flew onto Kuririn's head. The trio became a blur as Kintoun flew toward Starlight Canyon.

* * *

The Ram paced back and forth in the healing spring. Although she was glad that the Red Dragons had not discovered she was a human or noticed her not follow them, a sickening feeling in her stomach persisted. She had nearly lost her faith in the monsters, but she had to save them and the trio.

She looked at the stars twinkling in the sky. Master Crest would try to help the trio and monsters in any way possible, what she was unable to do during the Red Dragons' talk with the monsters.

_I must be as reliable as my master._

She de-transformed, her fur—save the fur on her head, which purpled and pointed toward the sky—retracting into her body, her torso thinning into a hourglass figure, and her meat shaping into her broomstick.

She pointed the broomstick to the wall, saying words in an ancient language. A fireball erupted from the broom and exploded on the canyon wall. A small fire erupted.

She uttered a sentence. Water jetted from the broom and onto the flame. Within seconds, the fire extinguished.

She sighed. _I have to learn better spells. _

She continued to cast spells until the morning.

* * *

Kuririn and Yamcha peeked at the Stick Joe and Rifle Wolf from behind the wall.

"So we have to protect them instead of fight them," Yamcha said. "But we need to get stronger so we have a fair chance against the Red Dragons."

"We can spar against them if we gain their trust." Kuririn eyed the sky. "How will we persuade them that we'll protect them?"

Yamcha smirked. "It's what Monica wants, right?"

Kuririn blushed. "That doesn't mean anything. I mean, it does mean something because I'm her friend, but not like that."

Yamcha scoffed. "Right. I'm sure she'd be very happy if we did find a way to protect them. After all, she feels really low right now. Just imagine how happy she'd be."

Kuririn visualized Monica hugging him, smiling, thanking him. A grin mixed with his blush.

His eyes snapped open. He looked at a smirking Yamcha. "R-right, right. She's not that affectionate. She'd never do that. Nope—"

"Hey, that wolf has a Geostone."

Kuririn started. He squinted at the Rifle Wolf that held a Geostone in its right hand. "Yeah, I see."

In the crook of the Rifle Wolf's elbow was a triangle-shaped rock.

"And another rock, it looks like," Yamcha said. "It's kinda shaped like a diamond, like that rock we took to get to this floor."

"That must be the way we get to the next floor."

"Must be. You're the only one who can talk to them. Convince them that we'll protect them." He smiled. "For Monica."

"Buruma told me you used to be scared of girls."

Yamcha blushed. He looked forward. "I-I'll back you up."

Kuririn stared at Yamcha for a moment, grinning. He then ran to the Stick Joe, and Yamcha ran to the Rifle Wolf. The Stick Joe jabbed its spaghetti-like arms toward Kuririn. He crossed his arms before his face, and it lashed his forearms.

"You really don't have to attack us."

The Stick Joe thrust its arms. Kuririn grabbed them. It pulled in an attempt to escape Kuririn's grip.

"I must defeat you, or the Red Dragons will kill us."

"I know. We're here to save you all from them."

The Stick Joe pulled, and its arms stretched. "The Red Dragons are too strong."

"We defeated the normal Dragons in Starlight Canyon."

"That is not a feat. The Red Dragons are much, much stronger than the regular Dragons."

Kuririn gulped. _Oh, man. _He forced a smile onto his face. "W-w-well, you have anything you wanna do before the Red Dragons kill you? They're not here right now, are they?"

"They are not here." The Stick Joe withdrew its arms and gazed at the cloudy sky. "I would like to see a moon while it rains. They say it is impossible, but I am sure that it would amplify my power tenfold."

"The moon amplifies your power?"

"Yes. Seeing any moon does. However, the moons are barely visible because of the humans—they're not visible at all in Mount Gundor—and the Red Dragons prohibit anyone from leaving."

Kuririn smiled genuinely. "If you amplify your power enough, you should be able to defeat the Red Dragons. And we'll help you. Just gather the rest of the moon…monsters, team up with us, and we'll kill them." He grinned. _That doesn't sound like a half-bad plan._

The Stick Joe stared at Kuririn.

Kuririn slammed a fist into his palm. "Yes, a rebellion. That's what we need. Team up on the Red Dragons and rebel. Why haven't you done that, anyway?"

"We are too weak. The Red Dragons continuously train so they can kill all of us if we try to rebel. We outnumber the Red Dragons, but they can still kill us."

"Have you ever tried?"

The Stick Joe shook its crescent-shaped head.

"So, you don't know whether that's true or not. Let's at least try, okay? You're gonna die anyway for keeping us humans here. Trust me, you're not as strong as us. Why not go out with a bang?"

"I would rather not go out at all." It looked at its arms. "However, based on your grip on my arms earlier, I can tell that you're stronger than me. You can kill me." The Stick Joe's head lit up. "Does it rain in Heim Rada?"

_I have no idea. _"Y-yes. Yes."

Its head brightened. "I will help you. Let us go to Heim Rada so I can see that moon."

* * *

Kintoun neared Starlight Canyon's ground, and the trio looked around. Silence pervaded the canyon, which was devoid of monsters.

Monica bit her lip. "I really hope they aren't all gone."

"We haven't seen the entire canyon yet." Max looked down at Kintoun. "Kintoun, take us around Starlight Canyon slowly."

"And keep us hidden as best you can."

Kintoun flew above the canyon, remaining in shadows it encountered, for an hour. The trio did not see monsters.

"I hope they just took a field trip or something," Monica said.

"What's a field trip?" Gokuu said.

"Never mind."

"Maybe we still haven't seen the whole canyon yet," Max said. "Besides, if the Red Dragons had killed the monsters, we'd see their remains, right?"

"That's a good point," Monica said. "Maybe we can still do something."

"Max, Monica, Gokuu!"

The trio looked over each other's shoulders. Barga and the condor, Lin on the condor's back, flew to them.

The trio grinned. "Lin!"

"And it looks like Mrs. Condor and Barga are okay, too," Max said. "How is everything?"

"Quite a few things happened," Lin said. "But, Monica, how did you get back? It looks like Griffon didn't do anything to you at all."

Monica explained what had happened in Griffon's palace.

Lin blinked. "Wow. I'm glad you made it out in one piece." She placed a hand on her chin. "That energy in Griffon's palace must be incredibly powerful if it was able to charge the Atlamillia up enough to send you to this time."

"I'm sure that if we got our hands on it, Griffon wouldn't be able to win."

Lin narrowed her eyes. "Unless Griffon himself uses the energy."

Monica cringed. "Hopefully, he underestimates us and doesn't use it. Besides, at this point, I think we can talk Griffon out of destroying the world or whatever he wants to do. Even though I've never been through what he's been through, I feel his pain."

"What?"

Monica shook her hands before her face. "Nothing. Anyway, let's focus on what we came here for. Have you seen Red Dragons?"

Lin gestured toward Barga and the condor. "Yes. That's what we came to talk to you about. You guys are still in Veniccio, right?"

"No, we're in Mount Gundor."

Lin's eyes widened. "The monsters here told the Red Dragons that you guys were in Veniccio. They'll tear it inside-out looking for you."

"Pau and the others are there," Max said. "And the Red Dragons might kill the monsters there for not keeping us away."

"Even if I told the Red Dragons that you all are in Mount Gundor, it wouldn't make a difference. Half of the Red Dragons are already heading to Veniccio."

"The monsters in Ocean's Roar Cave are smart enough to lie," Monica said. "I'm sure they'll think of something. I know they will."

"You know them better than I do. They might say that you all were too strong for them, like the monsters here did. Then, they'll only be trained instead of killed."

Gokuu's eyebrows slanted downward. "The Red Dragons are trainin' the monsters here now?"

"That's right. They said that the monsters needed to be prepared to kill any human that walks into Starlight Canyon. If I'm still here when they get back, I'll be one of their first victims."

"I don't think they'll stop at humans." Barga looked toward her nest in her valley.

"Then hurry and find a place to hide until everything blows over," Monica said. "The Red Dragons probably don't know Starlight Canyon as well as Mount Gundor."

"There really aren't any good places to hide here."

Max, who had placed his hand in his chin, looked up. "Try Palm Brinks. It's a bit crowded, but it should do until this whole thing blows over. It's east from here." He described Palm Brinks' appearance.

"All right." She looked at the condor. "We'll go there."

"Lin, you should head with them."

"But what if they destroy the Moon Crystal?"

"Why would they?" Gokuu said.

"The Moon Crystal is man-made, and the monsters might not want anything that reminds them of humans in this canyon. They might even destroy the whole lighthouse."

The trio exchanged looks.

"You might be looking into it too much, Lin," Max said.

Lin's breathing slowed. "I hope I am. But, just in case, I'll head to the lighthouse and put a shield around it."

"Th-the same shield you said that, if it got hit, you'd get hit, too?"

Lin nodded. "It's my only chance."

Monica patted Kintoun. "Climb on, Lin. We'll take you to the lighthouse. Barga, um, Mrs. Condor, go to Palm Brinks. Make sure you tell everyone what's going on so they don't think you'll attack them or anything. After you finish with that shield, Lin, we'll take you to Palm Brinks."

"It might be better if we hang around the lighthouse and protect it ourselves," Max said.

"But half of the Red Dragons are going to Veniccio and then to Mount Gundor," Lin said. "Will you be able to fight them all?"

Monica averted her gaze to the ground. "Kuririn, Yamcha, and Kamesennin might not be able to take on all those Red Dragons by themselves, and we might not be able to take on all those Red Dragons by ourselves, either." She narrowed her eyes. "I can only hope that the Red Dragons and the monsters don't target the Moon Crystal, much less the lighthouse."

"So, letting Lin put a shield around the Moon Crystal," Max said, "taking her to Palm Brinks, and heading back to Veniccio is our best bet."

"Right. We should check on everyone in Veniccio before we head back."Hopefully, the monsters keep to themselves after the Red Dragons' training."

Barga nodded toward the condor. "We'll leave as soon as we can."

"Once we defeat the Red Dragons, we'll go to Palm Brinks and tell you so you can head back to your natural habitat."

"Okay. Thank you for all your help."

"It's nothing."

Lin climbed onto Kintoun behind Max. They watched Barga and the condor fly into the distance.

Monica looked forward. _I hope they're not training where the lighthouse is._

* * *

After telling the Rifle Wolf of their plan and gaining its approval, Kuririn and Yamcha led six Stick Joes and six Rifle Wolves to Heim Rada. Kuririn wondered how they would protect the monsters from the Red Dragons. Perhaps Muten Roushi would be unable to defeat the Red Dragons.

_I know I should have faith in him, but the monsters make them sound so strong._

Muten Roushi was the only one in Heim Rada who could protect the monsters from the Red Dragons while the Stick Joes amplified their power every night. If the Red Dragons did not return for a long period of time, the Stick Joes could become strong enough to be one of their best assets against the Red Dragons.

The Rifle Wolves' bullets could distract the Red Dragons, giving the five and Muten Roushi more opportunities to attack. They needed to kill the Red Dragons as quickly as possible, lest the Red Dragons kill all the monsters in Mount Gundor.

Kuririn shook his head. _That's the worst case scenario. But they shouldn't do that. If they do, they won't have anyone to succeed them. That sounds pretty stupid._

When Kuririn, Yamcha, and the group of monsters arrived in Heim Rada, Buruma ran beside Muten Roushi, who loosened his grip on his cane. Oolong nearly fell off the pot on which he sat. Puar darted behind Muten Roushi. Kuririn grinned at them, yet they remained tense.

Puar peeked from behind Muten Roushi's shoulder. "They don't look like they're attacking Yamcha-sama and Kuririn. I wonder why."

"New allies maybe?" Buruma said.

"There has to be a good reason, though."

Muten Roushi thought about Monica seeming as though she were in deep thought while they were in Luna Lab. _I think I know why._

A Stick Joe outstretched its arms. "It is raining embers."

"Yep." Kuririn grinned. "You might see that special moon you talked about."

"I believe raining embers are not natural. If that is the case, then we will not see that moon."

Kuririn scratched his chin using one finger. "Oh. Well, that doesn't mean that you still won't be powered-up." He looked at the sky and pointed to the hazy moon behind the clouds. "See? The moon's out. It's dim, but it's out."

A Stick Joe smiled. "Yes. I can feel its power already."

"As long as you guys bask in the moonlight every night, you should be pretty strong by the time the Red Dragons come back. They might not come back for a while." He looked at each of the monsters. "You guys should go hide, though, and I'll get someone to protect you guys while we gather more monsters to help."

"The Red Dragons know both Heim Rada and Mount Gundor inside and out," a Rifle Wolf said. "They consider Heim Rada their territory, too, even though they never come here. Even if we hide, they'll definitely find us."

"Don't worry. Muten Roushi-sama!"

Muten Roushi ran to the group. "What is it?"

"Can you do us a favor, please?"

"Yes, of course."

"Can you protect these monsters from the Red Dragons and warn them if they're coming?"

"I can."

A Rifle Wolf snorted. "I'm sure that this old human can't protect us from a whole army of Red Dragons."

Muten Roushi adjusted his sunglasses. "Appearances can be deceiving."

"You need more than strength to beat them, though. You need to be cunning, too."

Kuririn placed his hands on his hips and smiled. "One of the many traits that Muten Roushi-sama possesses."

"And you shouldn't be willing to fight fairly. The Red Dragons like to gang up on monsters."

"If they need to do that," Muten Roushi said, "they must not be very strong at all."

"Oh, trust me, they're strong."

"But this is our only chance," a Stick Joe said. "If we win…" Its head brightened. "We will no longer be under their reign."

"The Red Dragons will probably head for Mount Gundor first," Kuririn said. "When they do, we'll come back here, and you can help us defeat them."

"What about us?" Buruma said.

"Maybe you should go back to Palm Brinks. There's no telling what'll happen while we fight here."

"Good idea. I know I don't wanna stick around."

"Thank you very much for your concern," a Stick Joe said. "I cannot understand why you would want to help us."

"We don't wanna kill any monsters that we don't need to," Kuririn said.

A Rifle Wolf slung its rifle over its shoulder. "Thank you."

* * *

The trio watched Lin, who stood on one of the prongs that extended from the Moon Crystal, her arms spread. They had not seen any monsters as they flew to the lighthouse.

_Where are they? _Max had thought.

Lin uttered words in an ancient language. A transparent dome surrounded the Moon Crystal. She lowered her arms and opened her eyes.

Max's eyes widened. "Whoa."

Lin's eyes had become blue. When Lin smiled, they returned to their green color.

"I didn't know Lin's eyes could change color," Gokuu said.

"That happens when sages get so caught up in their divinations that they don't know what's going on around them," Monica said, "or when they're performing a really challenging spell or divination. It must've been Lin's first time doing this."

Lin panted and fell, facedown, onto the prong. Kintoun flew to her.

"Lin, are you all right?" Max said.

Lin turned her head so that her cheek lay on the prong. "Yes. It just took a lot out of me, that's all. I should recover soon."

Monica looked around. "I don't see any signs of the monsters here, either. Where could they be?"

"They must be trainin' someplace real far off."

Max grabbed Lin's hands and pulled her onto Kintoun. "I wonder why they'd want to train so far away from the same place they want to protect from humans."

Monica shrugged. "Beats me. We can't worry about that now, though. Let's hurry and get Lin to Palm Brinks."

* * *

The trio left Lin in Palm Brinks, in which the condors arrived at the same time, and explained the situation to Morton, Patrolmen Addis and Puno, and other citizens who had seen the trio and condors.

"We'll gather all the citizens and hold a town meeting." Patrolman Addis looked at the condors. "You two should get settled in the park."

"I'll take you all there," Patrolman Puno said.

The trio said their goodbyes to Morton and the patrolmen and flew to Veniccio. They told Pau, Claire, Mayor Need, and Donny of the problem.

"Hide in Ocean's Roar Cave," Monica said. "We're about to tell the monsters there what's happening, too."

"If they destroy the buildings here," Max said, "call me on the Help Receiver, and we'll send Buruma to fix everything."

Pau and the others said they understood and entered Ocean's Roar Cave, the trio behind them. The trio repeated their explanation to a Geron, Fintol, and Corsair.

"The monsters in Starlight Canyon said that they were too weak to defeat the humans," Monica said. "If you say the same thing, the Red Dragons should only train you, not kill you." She gestured toward Pau and the others. "They need to hide until the Red Dragons are done training you."

The Geron nodded. "We'll spread the word."

"Good. We're going back to Mount Gundor. Stay on your toes." She looked at the sky. "We definitely will."

* * *

Kintoun flew over the wall and lowered near Mount Gundor's entrance. The trio hopped off. Max and Gokuu waved as Kintoun flew into the distance.

Kuririn shot out from the hole in the geyser, flailing, and stumbled upon his landing. Yamcha landed beside him.

"Looks like your landing's gotten much better," Monica said.

Kuririn bowed. "Thank you, thank you."

"Did you two go back to Heim Rada?"

"Yeah. We wall-jumped down." Yamcha raised his hands. "See? No injuries."

"That won't work when we get near the mouth. Just letting you all know now so nobody's hands burst into flame."

Yamcha's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"We don't need to worry about that right now." She explained what had happened in Starlight Canyon.

Kuririn gave Max his cap. "I told Buruma and the others that they should go back to Palm Brinks, too. The Red Dragons might destroy everything in Heim Rada after Buruma restores it, anyway." He explained what had happened in Mount Gundor and Heim Rada.

A grin spread on Max's face, and Monica's face lit up.

"That's great," Monica said. "Let's go back into Mount Gundor and gather more monsters. After we get a few more, we should spar with them so we're strong enough to defeat the Red Dragons. The monsters made them sound even tougher."

"We just need to be stronger than them." Gokuu pointed to the shell on his back. "We're always trainin'. Speaking of trainin', Kamesennin said he'd give us an upgrade soon. We should go back to Heim Rada and ask for that upgrade since we're used to these shells."

Monica looked at each of the boys. "Hopefully, we'll be able to handle that extra weight, with the thin air up here and all."

Kuririn pounded a hand on his chest. "Of course we will. Muten Roushi-sama's taught us that the human body can do anything."

Gokuu peered down the hole. "All right. Let's get back to Heim Rada." He jumped down the hole.


	52. Persuasion

**Chapter Fifty-two: Persuasion**

The Golem gasped for air. No matter how much it kicked against the current, it did not move. _Why'd I tell them that this canyon has some of the roughest waters in the world? _

The monsters kicked, flailed, punched as they fought the waters. Some surfaced occasionally, but the current quickly pulled them underneath.

The Red Dragons watched above. One's arms were crossed, and it grinned.

The waters moved downward, revealing the Golem's head. It saw the Red Dragons. _They must not be able to swim. Can't swim… _It chuckled.

A Red Dragon swooped near it. "What are you laughing about?"

The Golem's eyes widened momentarily. It attempted to hide its smile, but to no avail. It allowed the current to force it underwater.

"Do not avoid my questions."

The Golem watched the monsters struggle. Masked Tribesmen were maskless and seemed to fight the most. _With their stubby arms and legs, they can barely make it._

The Crescent Baron flashed into its mind's eye. Before they had dove into the waters, it told the Golem that it did not know how to swim.

"That's all right." The Golem had pounded a hand onto its chest. "I'll teach you." It grabbed the Crescent Baron and drew it near its body while the Red Dragons' attention was focused on a Masked Tribesman that stared, trembling, at the waters. The Golem dove into the river.

The current had wrenched the Crescent Baron from the Golem's grip and forced it past the Golem. The Golem watched it flail into another Golem. The Golem gathered the Baron into its arms.

"I'll teach you how to swim."

"But they will kill you."

"We're the rulers. It's our job to protect you."

A Red Dragon had neared them. "Why do you not allow that monster to train?"

The Golem looked up. "He can't swim."

"Release him, and he will learn on his own."

"No, he'll drown. And you guys can't swim, either, so why don't you get in here and learn?"

The Red Dragon had released a roar. It grabbed the Golem's protruding shoulder and lifted it and the Crescent Baron. It plucked the Crescent Baron from its arms and threw the Golem into the wall. Boulders fell on it, and it lay, motionless.

_At least he didn't disintegrate._

The Golem winced as its neck tightened, making breathing more difficult. It squinted up. The Red Dragon had reached into the current and gripped its neck, forcing it to still. The Red Dragon pulled it out of the water.

"Answer me."

"J-just imagining what I'll do to, to…" Max, Monica, Gokuu, and Lin popped into its mind. It shut its eyes.

"Not even a good liar. Tell the truth."

"But you'll kill me."

The Red Dragon pointed to the unconscious Golem. "We did not kill him. We will not kill any monster to guarantee the humans' death the next time they dare enter this canyon."

The Golem looked at the monsters struggle.

"Tell the truth."

It snickered. "You guys can't swim."

The Red Dragon's cheeks swelled, and a red shine encompassed them. It carried the Golem to the ground, upon which it placed the Golem. The Red Dragon landed before it.

"Fight me."

The Golem panted. It looked down at the Red Dragon, whose blush remained.

It nearly burst into laughter.

The Red Dragon struck the Golem's face, and the Golem flew backward. It rolled on the ground and then came to a stop. It placed its hands on the ground and shook as it attempted to stand.

The Red Dragon walked to it, its feet before the Golem's head. "You must be alert at all times."

"I know." The Golem staggered to its feet.

"What were you thinking about?"

"J-just about my little miss, sir."

The Red Dragon scowled. "Keep your fantasies in your bed at night. Now is not the time."

It inhaled, preparing to release a fireball. The Golem relaxed its body and looked around for someplace to dodge. Max, Monica, and Gokuu had leaped backward each time a Dragon had released a fireball.

_I hope they're training right now. If they're at the same level they were when they fought against the normal Dragons, they don't stand a chance. But by now, they should've gotten stronger._

It clutched its stomach, which felt as though someone had flipped it upside-down.

A red glow appeared in the Red Dragon's nostrils. Despite the Golem's efforts to force its body to do the opposite, its body tensed. It leaped backward, yet the fireball chased it.

_I hope they can defeat these guys._

The fireball exploded, covering its vision in red.

* * *

"Upgrades, eh?"

"Yeah. You promised, Kamesennin."

"I never did, but that doesn't mean I won't give them to you. Follow me."

The five followed Muten Roushi to Heim Rada's stop. They entered the Blackstone One's last car. Conda sat on a bench near the back.

Conda hopped onto his feet. "Ah, long time no see, Max, Monica, Gokuu." He adjusted his glasses. "I'm afraid I haven't met your tall friend and your little bald friend yet."

Kuririn's shoulders slumped. "L-little bald friend…"

Conda walked to Kuririn and looked him up and down. Kuririn leaned backward.

"A bit too young to be losing hair, aren't you, lad?"

Kuririn straightened. "I always cut it off myself. I can grow hair."

"What d'you look like with hair?" Gokuu said.

He scratched the back of his head. "You probably wouldn't be able to recognize me."

"Focus, everyone," Muten Roushi said.

"Y-yes. I'm Kuririn, Mr. Conda." He bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And I'm Yamcha. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you all, too. I'm the leader of a Firbit tribe. Ever seen Firbits before?"

"Not once."

Kuririn shook his head. "No, sir."

"Ah, well, this is a grand day in your lives. It's your first time seeing one of the majestic creatures called Firbits."

Kuririn narrowed his eyes. _Majestic?_

Conda stood on his toes and waved his cane. "I haven't seen any of you in so long. Buruma and the others had to keep giving me updates on how you were doing. Her, Kamesennin, the pig, and the cat are the only ones who come in this car to see me." He stroked his beard. "Then again, you do need Georama supplies."

The group stared at him.

"I'm just saying, it'd be nice if you visited every once in a while, even when you don't need Georama supplies. I've been awfully lonely since I left the rest of my tribe in Sindain. Buruma told me to drop them off there in case some Red Dragon monsters attack."

"Why didn't you go back with them?" Monica said. "Aren't you afraid of the Red Dragons?"

"You all still need Georama supplies, I'm sure."

She rolled her eyes. _And you need to keep making money, I'm sure._

"They might knock everything down anyway," Yamcha said. "Buruma said she'd stop rebuilding just in case. Everything's stalled until we defeat them."

Conda looked out the window. "Oh, that's unfortunate."

"The first half of the Red Dragons should be here soon. We should be able to"—He glanced at Monica—"_negotiate_ with them." He cracked his knuckles. "And if that doesn't work, we kill them. Simple as that."

"We just need the shells," Muten Roushi said. "Are they still here?"

"Of course they are." Conda pointed to the bench on which he had sat. "Right under here."

Muten Roushi dragged six shells, one by one, from under the bench. "They're all much heavier in weight." He pointed to one of the largest four. "Gokuu, get yours first."

Gokuu slid his shell's straps off. The shell fell, and the car shook. Conda grabbed a bench.

"Please take it off gently next time," Muten Roushi said.

"I will. Sorry, Conda."

Gokuu lifted the new shell using both hands. He slipped its straps onto his shoulders. His body sunk several inches. "Whoa. How much does this weigh?"

"The ones you, Kuririn, Yamcha, and I will be training with are 250 pounds." He gestured toward two shells. "Kuririn, Yamcha."

Kuririn and Yamcha slid the straps onto their shoulders and then shrugged the shells nearer to their bodies. Kuririn stumbled sideways, tripped over his feet, and placed a hand on a bench. He pushed himself upright and grinned at Gokuu.

"Oh, man." Yamcha resisted the urge to steady himself using a bench and stumbled backward. "Yep, we'll definitely be ready for the Red Dragons."

Muten Roushi equipped the remaining largest shell. He straightened, and his body did not waver. "Whew." He pointed to the smallest. "That's yours, Miss. It's 120 pounds this time."

"Fifty more pounds." Monica gripped the shell using both hands. She lifted it and placed it upon her back. "Hey, I did it by myself this time." She fell on the train bench.

"And the last one's yours, Max," Muten Roushi said as Monica grounded her feet and attempted to stand.

"I'm guessing 150 pounds, right?"

"That's right."

Max slipped the shell's straps onto his shoulders. He staggered backward, tripped over the shell he had unequipped, and fell onto Monica, who had recently stood. They fell onto the bench.

"Oops. Sorry, Monica."

Monica gasped, arms flailing and eyes threatening to roll back. "I, I can't breathe."

Max's eyes widened, and he planted his feet to stand.

"How do you stay balanced, Muten Roushi-sama?"

"It comes with age and wisdom."

Kuririn's eyebrows furrowed. "Wisdom?"

"Now, hurry to Mount Gundor and bring the monsters back here."

Max pushed himself onto his feet. Monica released a breath and ground her feet. Once she stood, she ran, swerving, to the door, the boys behind her. They left the train.

"Brutal training," Conda said.

"Thank you."

* * *

The five ran down the path leading to the hot springs. Rifle Wolves sat on the ledges, dipping their feet into the hot springs. Some polished their rifles, and others conversed with one another. Stick Joes floated above.

"So these are the monsters you gathered so far," Max said.

Kuririn grinned. "Yep. But if there really are so many Red Dragons, we'll need a lot more. Like, every monster in Mount Gundor. If we can get every monster, we should have a pretty good chance of taking the Red Dragons down."

"With every single monster in Mount Gundor," Yamcha said, "we should have a great chance."

Gokuu cracked his knuckles. "I can't wait to fight 'em." He looked around. "Which one has the Gate Key?"

Kuririn pointed to the Rifle Wolves. "They do."

A Rifle Wolf walked to them, a diamond-shaped rock in hand. "Looking for this?"

Kuririn took the rock. "Sure am. Thanks for holding it."

"No problem." The Rifle Wolf's eyes moved over the trio.

"Oh, right, you never met them." Kuririn introduced the trio to the Rifle Wolf. The trio greeted it. The Rifle Wolf returned their greetings and introduced itself. Kuririn translated and then explained where the trio had gone while he and Yamcha recruited the monsters.

The Rifle Wolf rubbed its chin. "Starlight Canyon, huh? That's near Rainbow Butterfly Wood. Been there?"

Kuririn gestured toward the trio. "They have. Yamcha-san and I joined them a little later."

"My brethren, the Hunter Foxes, are there. I wonder how they're doing."

"I'm sure they're fine." Kuririn faced Mount Gundor. "Anyway, we gotta get going. We'll be back with a few more monsters. You sure you can't help us recruit them?"

"The monsters here are very hardheaded." It shook its head. "I don't think we would help your case, as ironic as that is." It smiled. "Just tell them what you told us—if they refuse to cooperate, you'll kill them, and the Red Dragons'll kill them no matter what happens."

Kuririn scratched his cheek. "W-well, we're trying to avoid the whole killing thing now. It's really not necessary."

"Oh, pacifists, are you? A stark contrast to the other humans we've heard about." It looked into the distance. "But the Red Dragons seem to be acting differently toward the monsters in Starlight Canyon. They're being awfully nice, training those monsters and all." It snorted. "We wish we got that sort of treatment here."

"I see. All right, thanks for the help."

The five turned and ran toward Mount Gundor, the monsters waving. Kuririn translated his conversation with the Rifle Wolf.

"But they're monsters," Yamcha said. "Why can't they help? To me, 'very hardheaded' is too flimsy a reason."

"I'm sure they'd help if they could," Max said. "After all, it looks like they're not doing anything in the hot springs, and the moon monsters just need to stay in the moonlight every night. They're not doing anything during the day, except training, maybe."

"Training's pretty important," Monica said. Gokuu nodded.

The five ran in silence for several minutes. Out of the corner of his eye, Max saw the diamond-shaped rock, and he looked at it.

_What kind of material is it made of that keeps it from melting in Mount Gundor? Would it melt near the mouth?_

Monica noticed him staring. "As you guys have already figured out, that's how we go from one floor to the next. It's called a Magma Rock."

"Magma?" Kuririn turned the rock over in his hands. "But it's not even hot."

"It's called that because magma forms rock. The guys at Gundorada Workshop would take the rocks that the magma created and chisel smaller pieces, small enough to fit in the geyser, light enough for the smoke to lift it, and large and sturdy enough to carry people so they could travel throughout Mount Gundor. They placed them in the geysers and, usually, the rocks stay there. But I think Griffon took all the Magma Rocks and gave them to the monsters somehow to give us a harder time. As far as I know, monsters don't have an interest in rocks."

"We haven't heard from Griffon in a long time," Yamcha said. "Wonder what he's up to, other than attacking the west."

"Probably watching us like he always does."

The five arrived at the first floor's exit. Kuririn threw the Magma Rock into the geyser and jumped onto it. The Magma Rock was launched into the next floor. Kuririn stumbled upon his landing, as did the remainder of the five.

Yamcha tapped his shell. "Must be because of these." He reached down and rubbed his calf. "Let me tell you, we haven't even gotten started yet, but my leg's already aching."

Kuririn panted. "Glad I'm not the only one."

Max looked forward. "No choice but to keep moving." He, Monica and Gokuu led Kuririn and Yamcha through the passageway.

"The monsters don't even know humans are here yet, I don't think," Yamcha said. "We may hardly have to fight if we can keep taking monsters back to Heim Rada before they can spread the word about us."

"But they might notice that monsters are disappearing and think that humans have come back. Or they might think that the Red Dragons are already back."

"Either way doesn't change our goal." Monica turned a corner. Five Griffon Soldiers stood in a circle, whispering to one another. She stopped and backed away. Gokuu nearly collided into her, and Kuririn nearly collided into him. Max stopped beside Monica, and Yamcha skidded to a stop before reaching the corner. The five shuffled away until they stood behind the wall.

Yamcha glared. "Them again. The first time wasn't enough?"

Max eyed Monica, who lowered her Claymore.

"I-I'm sure we can find a way to settle this without fighting."

Monica looked sharply at Max, and he started. "We've been over this, Max. Those Soldiers are too loyal to Griffon for persuasion to work." For a moment, she glared at Max, who had looked at the ground and bit his lip. She softened her expression. "I'm sorry, Max. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"No, it's fine. You've been through a lot lately."

Monica shook her head. "It's not fine. I can't take my anger out on you or anybody, for that matter. That's not fair."

"It really is fine. It's good that you're letting your emotions out."

Kuririn raised his hand. "I agree."

"Me too," Gokuu said.

Kuririn pointed at Gokuu using his thumb. "When even he tells you that, it means you really need to start letting your emotions out."

"Hey, what's that mean?"

"Nothing."

Monica smiled.

Yamcha tightened his grip on the wall. "But they're not attacking. I wonder what's up."

The Soldiers looked at the five. The five bounded from the wall and landed before the Soldiers. Monica fought the urge to raise her Claymore. Kuririn's body tensed. Gokuu looked at each of his teammates; however, none took battle stances. He concentrated on the Soldiers, who walked toward the five. They stopped some feet away, their arms pointed to the ground.

"The emperor's given us a new mission—one that we need your help for."

Yamcha crossed his arms. "Well, well. What's this I hear?"

A Griffon Soldier growled. "We could really do without your smart comments. Anyway, the emperor told us to negotiate with the monsters and bring them to Heim Rada for protection at all costs. We are to get the monsters to help us negotiate with the Red Dragons and, if they don't listen to us, we are to kill them, with the monsters' help."

Monica's jaw dropped. "Th-that's the exact same plan we have."

"Since we're human too, the monsters will probably try to kill us. We've already killed a few for training."

Kuririn balled his hands into fists. "So they already know that humans are here."

Monica stepped forward. "I'm sure that if you tell them your stories, they'll want to join us. We'll definitely be able to gather all the monsters with your help."

"And once we gather them," Max said, "we're going to train with them so we're ready. We're hoping that it takes the Red Dragons a while to fly back here. They're going to search Veniccio for us, though, so that should slow them down."

The Soldiers exchanged looks. Their bodies perked and then grew rigid. They remained silent for some minutes.

"Hello?" Kuririn said.

"Griffon must be talking to them," Monica said.

He blinked. "Wow, total devotion. I've never seen anything like it." He narrowed his eyes at Yamcha. "One of the traits you'll need so you don't break up with Buruma and end up a loser."

"Hm," Yamcha said. "I could actually learn a thing or two from these guys."

The Soldiers' bodies relaxed, and they looked at the five once more.

"The emperor has approved your plan," a Soldier said. "We will also train with the monsters after we gather them. However, he has said that some of us should train with the monsters while others gather more."

"That's a good idea," Kuririn said. "Yamcha-san and I got the monsters by ourselves before."

"Since we're all here, though," Monica said, "let's get these monsters together."

The group ran through the passageway, the Soldiers in front.

"Why is Griffon telling you all to tell us stuff now?" Gokuu said. "He used to talk to us ourselves."

"He isn't comfortable talking with you."

"Why was he comfortable before but not now?" He looked over himself and then Max and Monica. "We haven't changed at all."

"You have. You just haven't realized it."

The trio exchanged looks. Gokuu raised a brow. Monica shrugged.

Max scratched the back of his head. "Well, based on these circumstances, we really had no choice but to change. Just think of everything that's happened so far. Anyone would change."

"I guess," Monica said. "Do you really feel like you've changed any, Max?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's kinda hard to explain, though. Ever since this journey's started, I've felt more tense. I mean, first, Flotsam ran after me for my Atlamillia. Since he couldn't get it, now Gaspard's after us—at least, I think he is—and a great evil, Griffon, is after us now. I can't help but stay on my toes."

"That goes for Yamcha-san, Gokuu, and I too," Kuririn said. "We didn't know so much was happening in the world. We just wanted to get stronger."

For several minutes, Monica stared at the backs of the Soldier's heads. She frowned.

"I'm sorry for killing your teammates earlier. I tried to convince them that I would make everything up to them, but they didn't believe me. I didn't want to kill them, but they were going to kill me." She averted her gaze to the wall. "That sounds really selfish, huh?"

"They were doing their job," a Soldier said.

Monica's eyes softened. "Oh."

They arrived at a clearing, in which stood a Steam Tore, a bubble from its right nostril growing and contracting with its rising and falling body; floated a Thunder Gundron; and floated a Wind Gundron, both of which faced each other.

Max pointed to the Gundrons. "If this place is like Starlight Canyon, they'll be the successors to the Red Dragons. That might make it a little harder to persuade them, but we should be able to do it. Let's go."

The group ran toward the monsters, Max's and Monica's weapons lowered. The Gundrons faced the group and released multiple balls of electricity and wind. Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha dodged the energy balls. The Soldiers raised their arms, and Max and Monica raised their weapons, blocking the energy balls. Monica's blade glowed red and green with each ball it absorbed.

_Must be that magic absorption technique._

The energy balls bounced off Max's hammer and dissipated on the walls.

_I didn't know it could do that._

The Steam Tore's bubble popped, and it started. It glared at the group. "How dare they interrupt my nap?"

The Thunder Gundron snorted. "You're always nappin'."

"And you always hold onto that jewel."

"That's because I need it to survive."

"And I need naps to survive."

A vein protruded from the Wind Gundron's forehead, and it roared.

"He's right." The Thunder Gundron pointed its tail toward the group. "Focus on them."

The Steam Tore creaked toward the group. Monica jumped behind Max.

"What's wrong?" Max said.

"Sorry, but you're gonna have to protect me for a little while." Monica raised her Himarra badge, and she transformed into a Himarra. She peeked over Max's shoulder and asked the Griffon Soldiers, "Can you guys talk to monsters?"

"I'm half-demon, so I can. The emperor gave some of those who are human the ability to speak to monsters to talk to the monsters in the palace."

"That's strange."

"You really shouldn't be saying anything, Monster Whisperer."

She rubbed a petal between her fingers. "I, well, I need to talk to monsters."

Another Soldier stepped toward the monsters. "We don't want to fight. We're here to save you from the Red Dragons. We know how brutal and relentless they can be, and we need your help in their defeat."

The Steam Tore stopped. "This sounds interesting."

The Gundrons eyed the Steam Tore but continued their assault.

The Thunder Gundron released a questioning roar. "They're humans. At least, most of them are." It squinted its eyes. "Why is a Himarra with them?"

"Because the humans helped me in Rainbow Butterfly Wood."

Gokuu whipped his head to look at her.

"They helped us realize that we don't need to attack one another. We used to fight with Man-eating Plants over land, but the humans told us that we should work together instead and compromise. Of course, we wouldn't listen to them at first and attacked them, like you guys are doing now, but they managed to convince us in the end. We've evened the amount of land each of us gets, and the Man-eating Plants are our best friends and allies in Rainbow Butterfly Wood now. I wanted to come with the humans to spread the word about their helpfulness and break some of the stereotypes we have humans in."

_She's good, _Kuririn thought.

The Thunder Gundron ceased its onslaught and looked at the Wind Gundron. The Wind Gundron eyed the Thunder Gundron. It spat its ball of wind into the wall.

The Thunder Gundron tightened its grip on its jewel and rumbled. It looked at Gokuu. "Why do you support the humans? I can tell you're not entirely human yourself. You turned around to dodge one of my attacks, and I saw a stub of a tail."

Monica furrowed her brow. "A stub of a… Gokuu, are you wearing underwear right now?"

"What's underwear?"

She rubbed her forehead. "Oh, my goodness."

"Just answer the monster's question," Kuririn whispered.

Gokuu straightened. "They're tryin' to restore the world and save it from Griffon. If Griffon gets more powerful, he might destroy the whole world, which includes you guys, too. If the Red Dragons kill us, then there won't be anyone to restore the world."

Kuririn nudged Gokuu. "Good job, buddy."

Gokuu grinned. "Thanks. I'm gettin' better at this."

"We could restore the world ourselves and defeat Griffon," the Thunder Gundron said. "We don't need humans in this world."

"That's easier said than done," Kuririn said. "We've been at it for months now. We've only just discovered how to travel to Griffon's time. If Griffon killed us, you wouldn't even be able to defeat Griffon because you wouldn't have a way to travel 10,000 years into the past.

"And let me remind you of our strength. The Red Dragons would kill you anyway for letting humans in here, and we could fight you right now and win. What's your pleasure?"

The Gundrons and Steam Tore exchanged looks. Then, they gathered in a circle and talked amongst themselves.

"Maybe you didn't need our help," a Soldier said.

"But we will when we fight the Red Dragons," Monica said. "We need all the help we can get." She glared at Gokuu. "Now, no underwear? Really, Gokuu?"

Gokuu pointed at clothes. "I thought these were enough."

"No. Far from it."

"Why do I need to wear so many clothes?"

"Have you ever heard of indecent exposure? It means you can get arrested for not wearing enough clothes and showing your privates in public."

"But we haven't seen any police so far."

"That's not the point. Please wear underwear. Have Max invent it for you, even borrow it from someone, but please put some on."

The Steam Tore and Gundrons nodded. They faced the group.

"We'd like to be the successors to this mountain," the Thunder Gundron said, "so we'll help you. And, believe us, we won't rule like the Red Dragons. The way they rule isn't nice at all."

"Great," Kuririn said. "There are already a few monsters in Heim Rada willing to help. You can join them. We have someone protecting them, too, just in case the Red Dragons show up."

A Soldier gestured to another Soldier. "We'll take them back. Then, we'll start sparring against them. Keep convincing the monsters.

"I'll go with you to explain what's happening," Kuririn said.

Kuririn, two Soldiers, and the monsters ran toward the entrance.

"Phew," Monica said. "If we convinced those Gundrons, we can convince any monster."

* * *

Kuririn led the Soldiers and the monsters to Heim Rada. Geysers no longer dotted the ground; Buruma had plugged them using hardened mud piles.

Buruma, Oolong, and Puar stayed atop their pots, but Puar began to quake, causing the pot on which he sat to quake as well.

"Now they've brought part of Griffon's army," Muten Roushi said. "They've been making some pretty interesting friends lately."

The group ran to them, Kuririn in front. He motioned toward the Griffon Soldiers. "Griffon's given these guys permission to help us defeat the Red Dragons." He slammed a fist into the palm of his hand. "We're getting more and more allies. Gokuu and the others are in Mount Gundor, gathering other monsters."

Muten Roushi nodded. "That makes sense. Still, be careful with them."

A Soldier scoffed. The other shifted from side to side.

"We will." Kuririn eyed the Soldiers and chuckled. "S-sorry. We trust you, but, uh, that was instinctive."

The Soldiers stared at Kuririn. Their masks hid their expressions.

"A-anyway, Muten Roushi-sama, we decided to start sparring with the monsters to prepare for the Red Dragons."

"That's a good idea. Let's start now. Follow us."

The Steam Tore and Gundrons followed Muten Roushi, Kuririn, and the Soldiers toward the hot springs.

Kuririn sighed. _I have a feeling we're not gonna be saving Max's mother anytime soon._


	53. Stupid Cupids

**Chapter Fifty-three: Stupid Cupids**

Mayor Need, Claire, Donny, and Pau huddled in the small clearing to which the Corsair had taken them. Mayor Need's body shook, and Pau, who sat beside him, pushed himself as far as possible from the mayor, pressing Donny's body into the wall.

Donny slid toward Pau, pushing him; Mayor Need, who continued to shake; and Claire to the right. "There's not enough room to be doing that, man."

"Sorry." Pau glanced at Mayor Need, his facial expression twitching. He tightened his muscles and hugged his knees to his chest, yet his arm shook with Mayor Need's body. He sighed.

"You'll be okay in here," the Corsair had said as they crawled through the tunnel leading to the clearing, Pau translating. "We used to keep our treasure here, and no one, except your human friends, ever found it. The Red Dragons can't possibly fit through this little tunnel anyway. I heard they're huge."

The ground rumbled. The group started, and Mayor Need grabbed a chunk of the wall. The color drained from his skin. _Oh, no. I think Monica said that the ground shakes when a Killer Snake or a similar…oh, no._

The palms of his hands became sweaty, and he nearly lost his grip on the wall. He attempted to breathe deeply to calm himself, to tell himself that perhaps Monica was wrong. She was never wrong. His breathing quickened.

Claire placed a hand on his left shoulder. He released a long exhale.

Pau watched debris fall from the ceiling. "The Red Dragons might be flying above us."

"Must be lots of 'em," Donny said.

Mayor Need fainted onto Pau, who, with Claire, glared at Donny.

"Huh?"

Pau pointed at Mayor Need, whose eyes were shut and body was enveloped in sweat.

Donny shrugged. "Well, you kinda started it yourself, mentioning the Red Dragons."

Pau opened his mouth. The ground stilled.

"They must've landed," Claire said as Mayor Need blinked and sat upright. "Maybe they're talking to the monsters now."

The group sat in silence for several minutes, the entirety of which Mayor Need's body quaked. Pau shifted repeatedly in an attempt, and failure, of preventing his arm from shaking alongside the mayor's body.

The group's ears perked. Shuffling sounds emanated from the tunnel. They squinted and craned their necks toward it, save Mayor Need, who pressed his body into the wall. Donny placed a hand on his gun.

A Corsair's head poked from the tunnel's opening. "I have to make this quick, or the Red Dragons might notice I'm gone. We told them that the humans overpowered us and took our treasure, and now they're going to train us. That should stall them for a while, giving your friends in Mount Gundor more time to train. Some of the monsters'll sneak away and bring you food and freshwater occasionally. Just stay here."

The Corsair turned and crawled away, Pau translating.

Mayor Need's body continued to shake. A glare tugged at Pau's eyes.

"What are you so worried about?" Pau said in the gentlest voice he could muster. "It's almost impossible for the Red Dragons to find us."

"Th-that's just it," Mayor Need said. "It's _almost _impossible."

* * *

Max; Monica, who had transformed into a Himarra; Gokuu; Yamcha; and three Griffon Soldiers gathered monsters. Those monsters followed the group as they recruited additional monsters. When the group grew so that, when she looked, she could not see the termination of the line of monsters, Monica said, "Gokuu, take those monsters back to Heim Rada."

"Okay." Gokuu turned around. "Guys, stop! We're going back to Heim Rada now."

The monsters stopped as Max, Monica, Yamcha, and the Soldiers continued.

One Soldier looked over the group of monsters. "With all those monsters, he's bound to need help. I'll go with him."

"Thanks," Monica said.

The Soldier ran to Gokuu, who said, "You're gonna help?"

"Yes."

Gokuu nodded and pointed into the distance. "Heim Rada's back that way." He led the Soldier and the monsters toward the entrance.

Max, Monica, Yamcha, and the two Soldiers ran until they saw Savage Rams standing across from each other, at which time they stopped. One Savage Ram charged toward the other. The other gasped and dashed in the opposite direction. They disappeared farther into the passageway, their stomps echoing.

Some seconds later, the Savage Ram that had charged first reappeared, sulking and dragging its axe, sparks flying. It stopped and stared at the ground.

Monica's brow slanted upward. "We'd better see what's going on with him."

The group ran to it. It scowled and raised its axe.

"Hold on a second," a Soldier said. "We're not here to fight."

The Savage Ram swung its axe. The group jumped backward, and its axe clashed onto the ground. The Ram pulled the axe upward, bowed its head, and charged. The group spread to the sides. The Ram dashed past. It swiveled around and readied for another charge.

"We saw what just happened," Monica said. "You tried to become friends with another Ram, right?"

The Ram's head remained bowed.

"It looks like you scared him away, but we can bring him back and help you become friends with him."

The Ram straightened. "Her, you mean."

"R-right. Her."

"I've heard you guys have been goin' around, trying to recruit monsters and overthrow the Red Dragons, which is great. But if you want my help, you should help me first."

The Savage Ram's eyes grew distant. "I guess my charge scared her away. I've had a crush on her for a while and just now decided to take charge."

Monica stifled a groan. A Soldier shifted from side to side.

"Can you deliver some meat to her? That should convince her that I love her. Meat is much more delicate than a charge."

The Soldier cocked his head.

"I'm supposed to be the monster expert," Monica said, "and even I don't know what that means."

"Doesn't matter. Wait here." The Ram ran into a passageway to its right. Some minutes later, it returned, a club of meat in its left hand. "Thing is, I don't know where she went, so you'll have to find her yourself."

A Griffon Soldier placed a hand on the back of his head. "We can't tell who's a girl and who isn't. Does this young lady have any special features?"

The Ram grinned. "Oh, yes. She always smells really nice."

"Transforming into a monster's given me a stronger sense of smell. What does she smell like?"

The Ram rubbed its chin. "Um, like, um… I'm not sure, but it's a really nice, unique smell."

"We all have unique smells." Monica eyed Yamcha. "I can tell you put on a lot of cologne this morning."

Max and the Soldiers nodded.

Yamcha scratched his cheek using one finger. "It's for Buruma. I wanna spend time with her at the end of the day, and this new cologne should get her started."

Max cocked his head. The Soldiers remained rigid.

Monica scrunched her face. "T.M.I."

"Any other special features?" a Soldier said. "Preferably something more specific."

The Ram's eyes hazed. "A scar running from the top of her forehead down to the bottom of her nose. It's so sexy. Can tell that was a deep wound." It shuddered and smiled.

"Now we know what to look for. Okay. We'll give her that meat."

The Ram gave the Soldier the meat. "I wrote a poem on it, too. Make sure you read that to her."

"I didn't know writing a message on meat was possible." Monica's mouth twisted into a smirk. "You oughta trying giving Buruma meat with a poem on it for Valentine's Day."

Yamcha eyed the opening at the top of the passageway. "I'm sure she'd have a great reaction."

"Let's give this meat to her." The Soldier turned and led the group through the passageway, he, the other Soldier, and Monica translating their conversation.

"We are not the 'Love Connection,'" Yamcha said.

"Today we are," Monica said.

Max pointed at the meat. "What about the poem?"

The Soldier turned the meat over in his hands until he saw what appeared to be scribbles etched into it. "Ah, here it is." It squinted. "I can't understand his handwriting."

Monica gestured toward herself. "I might be able to read it."

The Soldier handed her the meat. Her eye moved back and forth as she read. She raised her eyebrow. Then, she furrowed it. Then, she narrowed her eye.

"I'm guessing you can read it," Yamcha said.

Her eye narrowed farther. "Yes. I can."

The group saw several Rams standing in a circle and stopped behind a corner, peering around it. Max stood on his toes so that he peeked above a crouched Soldier's head. His eyes brightened. "I see the one with the scar. She's in the back."

"That guy's been stalking me for a while," the female Ram said, "and then he actually charged after me. I didn't know what he was about to do. I was hoping you guys could tell him to back off."

The other Rams pounded fists onto their chests, released war cries, raised their axes.

"Oh, no." Monica translated the female Ram's worries.

"Based on what you said earlier," Max said, "that Ram seemed like a nice guy."

"Apparently not. Either the girl's misinterpreting things, or that Ram's just crazy."

"Slaughter him!"

More war cries. The Savage Rams, save the female, charged toward the group. The group bounded from the wall. The Rams skidded to a stop, smoke bellowing from their feet.

"Get out of our way."

Monica raised her hands. "Please listen to us first."

The Savage Rams lowered their heads and tensed their bodies. Some kicked their feet, readying themselves to dash.

* * *

"Don't worry, Daddy. The pirate said that the Red Dragons can't fit through the tunnel."

Mayor Need glimpsed at Claire, whose head rested on his shoulder, her eyes closed. He felt himself smile and his body sink.

Screams emanated from outside. Mayor Need jolted upright and quaked. Pau grumbled.

"They must be training right outside now." Donny frowned further. "Either that, or fighting."

Mayor Need paled two shades. Pau and Claire glared at Donny, who chuckled.

"Sorry. Just can't keep my thoughts to myself."

A roar. _Thud_. The cavern shook, and debris poured on them.

A hoarse voice. "I-if you don't mind a suggestion, sir, there's a better place to train than here." A cough.

Pau smiled. "That was a monster's voice. The Red Dragons are only training them."

Mayor Need exhaled.

"Yes, I saw the tide was quite strong..." The Red Dragon's voice faded.

Donny clenched a hand into a fist. "All right. They got him away from here." His expression hardened. "Let's hope that no others come around."

Mayor Need's body stiffened, and he shook. Pau and Claire glowered.

"Oops. I'm sorry."

* * *

"Stand your ground," a Soldier said as the Savage Rams charged toward the group.

"Get behind me, Monica," Max said.

Monica jumped behind Max milliseconds before he slammed his hammer into a Savage Ram's stomach, stopping its charge. Blood emerged from its mouth and splattered on Max's overalls. It hovered inches from the ground. Max thrust it backward, and it stumbled.

Monica poked her head above Max's shoulder. "Listen to us first, guys, before you do something you regret."

"We never regret anything."

Yamcha slammed the palm of his hand onto a Savage Ram's forehead, stopping it at arm's length from his body. It swung its axe repeatedly but connected with air. Another Savage Ram swung its axe toward Yamcha's head. Yamcha caught the Ram's arm and threw it to the ground. The Ram jumped onto its feet and charged. Yamcha kicked its gut, and the Ram flew backward. On its back, it slid to a stop.

It sprung onto its feet once more. Yamcha growled.

It charged. Yamcha pounded his remaining fist onto its chest, and it stopped. He grabbed its arm to prevent it from backing away to charge again.

When a Ram neared him, the Soldier placed his hand upon its chest and shoved. The Ram fell onto its back. Max and Monica looked, their eyes wide.

The Ram jumped above the Soldier, its axe overhead. The Soldier raised his arm, and the axe clashed against it. The Ram landed, the ground shaking. They pushed.

A Ram vaulted toward the second Soldier. The Soldier stabbed its stomach, slamming the Ram to the ground, its eyes watering. It swung. The Soldier caught the axe using his other hand. He thrust. The Ram staggered backward, forcing the Soldier's hand out its stomach.

"We're not here to fight," Monica said.

"We are," a Ram said.

"You guys are always ready to fight. But this Ram that you said is stalking the girl was only stalking her because he didn't know how to express his love."

A Soldier nodded. _Impressive liar, just like a politician._

"He's not really good with words, but he tried." Monica withdrew the meat from behind her back. "He wrote a poem for her."

"Who cares?" a Ram said. "He's been bothering my daughter."

"Don't you want a grandson?"

"Of course." It glanced at its teammates. "Which one of us doesn't?"

The Rams were silent.

"And the only way to get a grandson is… I'm sure you know how that works."

"But that guy could hurt her, and there are plenty more Savages here."

"We'll prove that he's a really gentle guy when it comes to your daughter. When it comes to fighting, he's as savage as any of you are, maybe even more." She raised the meat. "First, we'll read this to your daughter and see if she likes it. If she does, chances are that she'll fall in love with him. Now, if you'll let us pass, we'll go ahead and do that."

The Savage Rams looked at the father Ram, which turned and walked toward the female. The remainder of the Rams and the group followed.

As they walked, Monica said, "All that reading about monsters came into handy after all."

The group reached the female Ram. Monica walked past the Rams, all of which watched the meat. She stepped before the female and repeated the explanation she had given the male Rams.

"A poem?" the female said.

"That's right. It's really nice. I'm sure you'll love it."

The female stared at the meat. Drool rolled out the corner of her mouth.

Monica blinked. "O-okay… I'll go ahead and read it." She cleared her throat. "'My dear…'" She squinted. Several erasures and scratches ensued. She reached the next legible word. "Meaty."

Yamcha stifled a laugh, his cheeks swelling. He turned around. Max furrowed his brows.

Monica forced her facial expression to remain neutral. "'How I love the…thai…you.'"

Yamcha's body shook. He covered his mouth and looked at the ground. The Soldiers remained still.

"'I will go through the ways you I love. Firstly, you have nice stomach. It is big and round and fat.'"

Yamcha squeezed a Solder's shoulder. "I-I'm about to lose it." He buried his face into the crook of the Soldier's neck.

"'Secondly, you are strong. As strong as my axe and my meat, which I eat every day. Like it, I am sure you are tasty.'"

Max's mouth hung open.

"'Thirdly, you are covered with hair. Bushy, thick hair. It looks soft and comfortable. I would like to bury myself in it after long day of eating and sleeping.

"'And lastly, and most importantly, you have sexy scar on your forehead. It is deep and shows your strength, which I am sure you got from your father.'"

A grin crept onto the father's face.

"'P.S.: This meat for you. Please eat it and show me bone if you would like to go on date. Always love, Beef.'"

Yamcha straightened and looked at the Rams. He exhaled and continued to smile. Max closed his mouth and turned his attention to the Rams.

Monica lowered the meat. "What did you think of that lovely poem?"

The female Ram snatched the meat from Monica. She scraped the meat off using her teeth and swallowed, leaving the bone. "Where is he?"

Monica stared at her, bug-eyed. Yamcha's facial expression mirrored that of Monica's.

"Wait a minute." The father stepped before his daughter. "Before he gets his hands on my little savage, he needs to go through all of us." He gestured toward the group of male Rams.

Monica's jaw dropped. "Every single one of you?"

"Of course. It's a req—requi…it's needed to prove that he can protect her."

The female Ram blushed. "Dad, I don't need protecting anymore." She swung her axe. "You taught me yourself how to fight and, like Beef said in his poem, you're very strong."

"You never know what could happen." The Ram pointed at Monica. "Bring Beef here."

Monica turned, and Max, Yamcha, and the Soldiers turned with her. Monica and the Soldiers translated their conversation as they ran.

Yamcha smiled sheepishly. "Wonder what would happen if I read that poem to Buruma."

Monica rolled her eyes. "I'm sure your relationship would keep going strong."

Beef appeared, sitting, his legs outstretched and spread apart. The group stopped before him.

Beef stood. "Ah, you're back. How'd it go? Did she like it?"

"Yes, and her father did, too," Monica said. "Luckily, they're not out for blood like they once were."

"Huh?"

"Her father and the other Rams were going to kill you." She averted her gaze to the smoke rising in the gap between the ground and the wall. "Actually, they might still want to kill you. All of them want to fight you so you can prove that you're strong enough to take care of her."

The Savage Ram raised its axe. "Easy. One-on-one or all together?"

"Dunno." Monica looked back from whence she and the remainder of the group had come. "We'll find out when we get back."

The group ran to the Savage Rams, who scraped their axes against the wall to sharpen them. They faced the group upon its arrival. Beef walked before the Rams.

"Ah, Beef, you've come." The female's father raised his axe and charged toward Beef, as did the remainder of the Savage Rams. Beef dashed toward them.

"Whoa, so sudden," Yamcha said.

Beef's axe clashed against the father's axe, and they pushed. Another Savage Ram bashed Beef's head, and he fell to the ground, facedown. The Savage Rams slammed their axes into Beef's back, Beef grunting with each hit. Beef bent his knees and kicked one, and it staggered backward. Beef kicked another. That Ram stumbled away.

Beef closed his eyes, concentrating on where he was being hit. He raised his axe, and another Ram's axe clashed onto his. Beef staggered to his feet as they pushed.

The father slammed his axe on the back of Beef's neck, and Beef fell onto the father's chest. The father thrust his chest outward. Beef reeled backward, coughing.

The Rams he had forced away charged toward him. They headbutted his sides, and he lost his breath. His grip on his axe loosened.

"This does not look good," Yamcha said.

"Or fair," Max said. "How are they expecting him to defeat all of them at the same time?"

Monica shrugged. "He sounded so confident before that I thought he could beat them."

Beef swung his axe in all directions. The father swung his axe, catching Beef's axe. Beef, panting, shoved, yet the father did not move.

The remainder of the Rams continued to slam their axes onto Beef's back. Beef gritted his fangs. He released his hammer from the father and swung toward another Ram. That Ram caught Beef's axe, and the father swung toward the back of Beef's head.

A Soldier cupped his hands around his mouth. "Stop it."

The Savage Rams continued their assault.

"We'll have to make them stop." He gestured toward the other Soldier. "Come on."

The Soldiers ran toward the Rams. Monica reached toward them. "Wait, you guys. There are too many for just you two to take on."

Max raised his Digi Hammer. "Maybe we should help, too."

The Soldiers ran to one Savage Ram each and sliced their backs. Both Rams released a roar, stopped their swings, and whirled around to face the Soldiers. The remainder of the Rams stopped, their axes in mid-swing.

Yamcha relaxed his battle stance. "Or maybe not."

"What are you doing?" the father said.

"This isn't fair," a Soldier said. "There are way too many of you for him to fight by himself. You guys have to stop or at least let him fight one-on-one."

The father looked at Beef, who jumped onto his feet. He glared at the Soldiers. "How dare you stop my fight? I was about to win."

Monica rubbed her forehead.

The female stepped forward. "It's okay. He can protect me, and I can protect him. He's already proven that he's a great fighter."

Monica raised her brow. "Okay," she said under her breath.

"He held up for a long time during your beating. I'm not sure if even you could do that, Dad."

The father snorted. "Of course I could."

The remainder of the Rams faced him.

"But we're not going to test me today."

"And even after all that," the female said, "he jumped right back up. He has much strength."

The father's eyes moved slowly over Beef. He moved aside, revealing his daughter. "She is yours. Promise to take care of her."

"I promise."

The father's expression softened. "I am glad to have you join my family, to have a new son like you."

Beef ran to her, and they headbutted each other's foreheads. They pushed, smiling.

"Is that supposed to be a kiss?" Yamcha said.

Monica nodded. "Yup. That's how they kiss."

Beef and the female released their heads and clashed their axes. They sparred, swinging their axes and slicing each other's skin.

Max and Yamcha stared, slack-jawed.

"I've never seen a love like that before," Yamcha said.

Monica narrowed her eyes at him and smiled. "Wonderful techniques to use on Buruma, if you ask me."

"Definitely."

"We did what you wanted us to do," a Soldier said, and Beef and the female faced the group. "Now we need your help to overthrow the Red Dragons."

Beef glanced at the other Rams. "I said I'd go with them."

"We already have plenty of other monsters waiting to help," Monica said. "But I'm sure you'll be just as valuable, if not more, than they'll be."

"We sure will," the father said.

The Savage Rams followed the group toward Heim Rada, their feet shaking the ground. They hovered near Max's, Monica's, and Yamcha's necks, puffing breaths onto them. Monica focused on the Soldiers' backs to ignore the warm air on her neck.

Yamcha slammed a fist into the palm of his hand. "All right, we got more. This fight should be a breeze."

"Don't let your guard down," a Soldier said.

"Do I ever?"

"I can't judge since I've never watched you fight before."

"What're your names?" Monica blurted. Yamcha cast her a raised brow.

"Unimportant," the Soldiers said in unison.

"They are important. I want to get to know you guys a little better. There's a lot in a name, you know."

The Soldiers were silent for some seconds. Then, one said, "The emperor has given us permission to tell you our names, but he pointed out that you might not be able to tell who's who."

"It's fine," Monica said. "I can recognize your voices."

The Soldier placed a hand on his chest. "I'm Colt."

"Dillo here."

Monica smiled. "Nice to meet you, Colt, Dillo."

"Yeah, it's great to know your names," Max said.

Yamcha grinned. "Same here."

Colt looked forward. "Yeah. It's great."


	54. The Hot Springs Spirit

**Chapter Fifty-four: The Hot Springs Spirit**

Max, Monica, Yamcha, the Soldiers, and the group of Savage Rams arrived in Heim Rada. Near Mount Gundor's entrance, Stick Joes lay on their backs, their crescent-shaped heads facing the moon, which enveloped them in a silver shine. Their heads sparkled with moonlight. They remained rigid as the group ran past.

Monica's eyes darted at each of them. "They must be powering-up like Kuririn said."

"Wonder how strong that makes them," Yamcha said.

"Guess we'll find out when the time comes."

The group continued down the path leading to the hot springs. Gokuu sat, nude, in one of the hot springs, lathering himself with water. Rifle Wolves relaxed in another section of the springs. Kuririn sparred with a Griffon Soldier as Muten Roushi sparred with two.

Gokuu waved. "Hey, you guys are back. And you got more monsters." His body shifted upward, preparing to stand.

"I really don't wanna see you naked today, Gokuu," Monica said.

Gokuu plopped in the water, crossing his arms. "I don't understand why."

"If you were a girl, you'd understand." She narrowed her eyes. "Actually, probably not."

Muten Roushi blocked the Griffon Soldiers' slices and swings using his arms and legs. "You'll be staying here," he told the Savage Rams.

A puff of smoke emerged from the father Ram's nose. "Looks like a good place to tear up while we wait for the Red Dragons."

Kuririn froze in mid-kick. "T-tear up?" A Soldier shoved him onto his back.

"You all mean 'train,' right?" Muten Roushi said.

"Sure." The father yawned. "But for now, we're tired. Let's sleep for now."

The Savage Rams collapsed onto their backs and stomachs, their axes either pointed away or drawn near their bodies. A second passed, and the Rams' snores filled the air.

"Wish I could fall asleep that fast," Monica said.

"I'm a bit too tired to train myself," Max said. "I've heard that different fish come out depending on the time of day."

Monica's face fell. "D-don't tell me you're thinking of…"

He withdrew the fishing rod. "I'm gonna fish for a bit."

She glared at the rod and placed a hand on the hilt of her Claymore.

Max's eyes widened. "M-Monica?"

She dropped her hand to her side. "Well, nothing happened the last time you went fishing. I've never heard of fishing in hot springs before, but maybe large ghost fish can't fit in hot springs. Go ahead."

Muten Roushi dodged a Soldier's arms. "I'm glad you gave him your approval, ma'am."

"If you were with us during the incident at Palm Brinks' lake, I assure you, you'd be worried, too."

"I'm not worried," Gokuu said.

"You never are."

"That's not true. I was at a restaurant once, and I was worried that they were gonna run outta food."

Monica's shoulders slumped. "If only my problems were as big as yours."

Max hooked Mimi, a worm, onto the rod and then cast it in one of the vacant sections of the hot spring. He exhaled.

Monica's eyes softened. She turned her attention to another unoccupied section of the hot springs. "I haven't been in hot springs for months."

A blush spread on Muten Roushi's cheeks. He stifled a chuckle. Kuririn's mouth opened, and he froze in mid-punch. The Soldier shoved him onto his back. Yamcha ran a hand through his hair, his eyes moving to the ground.

She ran up the path leading to the iron houses. Minutes later, she returned in her bikini.

Kuririn turned away from Monica, the Soldier following his movements. Muten Roushi faced her and used one hand to adjust his sunglasses. Yamcha studied the fishing rod's bobber.

Monica settled into the hot springs. She closed her eyes and leaned her head backward. "This feels great. Max, you should come in here when you're done fishing."

"Sure thing."

Cedric walked down the path toward Max, glancing at each of the monsters, whose eyes moved up and down his body, a Rifle Wolf polishing its rifle. He quickened his pace until reaching Max, a Lure Rod, which resembled the fishing rod in appearance, in hand.

Max's face brightened. "Cedric."

"Hey, Max. Haven't talked to you in a while. Looks like things're goin' well for you, though, as far as gathering the monsters go."

"Yup. They're going great."

He raised the Lure Rod. "We'd gone back to Palm Brinks a little while ago, and Olivie told me to give this to you. Kept forgetting, and just now remembered. She said that she wanted you to have the best chance at competing against her in the Fishing Contest and Finny Frenzy as possible."

Max took the rod and turned it over in his hands. "Looks good. Tell her I said thanks."

He withdrew a fork and gave it to Max. "She told me that that's one of the lures you can use. You put it on your rod like you do your normal fishing rod, but you keep moving the lure slightly and with sudden movements while it's in the water instead of keeping it still. Got it?"

"Yeah, I think I understand." He reeled in his fishing rod's line and deposited it in his pouch.

"All right. Gerald, Buruma, Puar, Oolong, all of us are about to head back to Palm Brinks. Steve'll be parked next to the railroad tracks. Good luck against those Red Dragons."

Max clenched a hand into a fist. "Thanks. We'll definitely defeat them."

Cedric turned around, eyes darting to each of the monsters, and then dodged them as he ran toward the Blackstone One.

Max baited the Lure Rod with the fork and then cast the line into the hot springs. "I bet I can catch even better fish with this."

The water beside the bait bubbled. Max furrowed his brows.

"Monica, do you know what this is?"

"What what is?" Her eyes widened at the bubbling water. "Oh, boy."

"'Oh, boy?' So, you know what's happening."

"Not at all, which is why I suggest you get as far away as possible."

Despite Monica's words, everyone remained still, staring at the bubbles. Max opened his pouch and placed his hand on his Digi Hammer. Then, the bubbles ceased.

"Huh?"

A tug forced Max to take three steps forward. He ground his feet, yet he was dragged toward the springs. He tightened his grip on the rod and pulled. He continued to move forward.

"Gokuu, help."

"But Monica said—"

"Help him!"

Gokuu jumped out of the hot springs, water spilling off his naked body. Monica resisted the urge to cover her eyes. He wrapped his arms around Max's waist and yanked. Small trenches were created in the ground as they were dragged.

Max tripped over the ledge and fell, facefirst, into the hot springs. He kicked, gasping for air. Gokuu's torso landed on his head, pushing him farther into the water. Gokuu wrapped his arms around Max's waist and hoisted him.

Gokuu opened his eyes slightly. A purple and white fish, several times Max's size, floated before them. Additional yellow fins lay atop its head. Its mouth sucked on the fork, and the rod floated some feet away. Its visible eye gazed at them.

Gokuu blinked. The fish blinked.

Max inhaled sharply. Gokuu swam to the surface and poked Max's head above the water. His breaths lengthened as Monica, Kuririn, Muten Roushi, and the monsters surrounded the hot springs.

"What happened?" Muten Roushi said.

"There's a giant fish down there." Gokuu placed Max onto his feet. He sputtered water and rubbed his eyes.

"You okay, Max?" Yamcha said.

Max nodded, coughing.

"Now do you see why I was so worried?" Monica said.

Muten Roushi shrugged. "Not really."

"You're just saying that to get on my nerves, aren't you?"

"I would never want to annoy you, Miss."

The fish surfaced, steaming water pouring off its body like a waterfall. It spat the fork out, and Max scrambled to catch the Lure Rod. "How dare you try to fish me out?" Its voice was similar to Mardan Garayan's, yet lower an octave.

Max raised his hands before his face. "I, I just wanted to see what kinds of fish lived in the hot springs. I wasn't trying to hurt you."

The fish scoffed. "Might as well start big. And such a mighty fish you tried to fish out—I, the legendary mighty King Baron."

Kuririn's terror prevented him from narrowing his eyes at the fish's name.

"King of what?" Gokuu said.

"Is it not obvious, boy?"

"No."

He eyed the top of his head. "Ah, yes. I have no crown. I am the king of these legendary hot springs. Heim Rada is the only town in the world that contains hot springs."

Yamcha raised a finger. "Actually—"

Monica cleared her throat. The remainder of the group cast her furrowed brows.

She rubbed her neck. "Sorry, getting a sore throat."

Everyone, save Yamcha, turned their attention to the fish. She mouthed to Yamcha, "Play along with him."

Yamcha shifted from side to side, grumbling.

King Baron scowled at the springs. "I believe that brute still has my crown." His eyes moved over each of the group and licked its lips. "But I'm awfully hungry. A little human and monster meal would make me feel much better."

Monica nearly scuttled backward. "Meal?"

"That's quite the reversal," Dillo said, "a fish eating a human."

Kuririn's body quaked. "S-s-s-sir, is there anything w-w-we can do for you before you eat us?"

A Rifle Wolf slammed the butt of its rifle onto the ground. "We work for no one."

"I don't know about you guys but, generally, I think it's a good idea to do what someone asks when they wanna eat you."

King Baron's giggle resembled that of a gurgle. The water bubbled. "Oh, I like you. It seems you understand how the world works."

Yamcha snorted. "The world you live in," he said under his breath.

"I would like you to dive into these hot springs and retrieve my crown from that brute. You'll recognize him."

"We will?" a Rifle Wolf said.

"Yes. He's transparent."

Monica massaged her throbbing forehead. "Another one of those ghost fish. Great."

"Any questions?"

"Were you gurgling earlier?" Max said. "I mean, when I was trying to fish you out, was your gurgle causing the water to bubble?"

"That was not a gurgle, little boy. That was a giggle. And I was not gurgling earlier. I was just expending a bit of gas."

Monica's, Yamcha's, and Kuririn's eyes narrowed, and silence pervaded for several moments.

"What are you all waiting for? Go."

A small area behind King Baron bubbled. He cringed. "Augh. Who dares pass gas right beside me?"

A Den-like fish twice the size of King Baron emerged, yet no water poured off its transparent body. An antenna protruded from the top of its head, and at the end of the antenna hung a glowing yellow ball, one of the two opaque portions of its body, the other being a gold crown adorned with diamonds. Yamcha's tongue lolled out the corner of his mouth.

"He looks familiar," Gokuu said.

Max pointed to its antenna. "He has one of those antennas like the ghost fish we saw in Palm Brinks' lake."

"I sense humans here." The Den sniffed, and its eyes settled upon Max. "I also smell a fork."

Monica placed a hand upon her Claymore's hilt. Max stuffed his Lure Rod into his pouch.

King Baron flailed. "Hey, don't ignore me. I'm right in front of you. How can you not see me?"

"You're annoying. Shut up."

King Baron's lips pursed. Then, he opened his mouth as far as possible so that his jaw extended into the water. "How dare you? I have never—how disrespectful, how rude, how—"

"I believe you all may not be able to see me properly, only my wonderful antenna." The Den dove underneath King Baron and then surfaced before him.

"Stop ignoring me."

The Den's visible eye moved over each member of the group. "It seems as though all of you can see me now."

"You all, retrieve that crown for me."

"You're right there," Gokuu said. "Why don't you do it?"

"And get my manicured fins soiled?"

"They look the same as all the fins I've seen on other fish."

King Baron's cheeks puffed. "Why, you—"

"Stop provoking him," the Den said. "His voice is grating enough."

King Baron's cheeks reddened. "And you—"

"I'm here to see you all," the Den continued over King Baron's rant. "I've sensed a bit of trouble in Palm Brinks' lake, and I had a hunch that humans were bothering my brethren there." It smirked. "And you're here with a Lure Rod, one that you somehow fit into your pouch."

It emerged from the hot springs without sloshing water, the crown falling near one of the iron houses, dust erupting around it. It dove toward the group, turned around so that its fin faced Max, and waved its fin as though it slapped someone. Max and Gokuu leaped backward, and its fin passed through the ground. Its pectoral fins became opaque, and it bounced onto its tailfin, which solidified.

Max withdrew his Digi Hammer and Steal Gun and then rummaged inside his pouch for Holy Water. Monica unsheathed her Claymore. Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamcha, and Muten Roushi took battle stances. The Rifle Wolves aimed their rifles at the Den.

"Take the crown," King Baron said, "and teach him a lesson while you're at it, no?"

Max did not feel the shape of the container holding the Holy Water. "Uh-oh. Guys, I don't have any Holy Water."

"And there's no sun to save us this time," Monica said.

The Den leaped overhead so that it neared the moon, which remained at its peak. It waved its tailfins and dove toward them.

"Parts of its body become solid when it tries to hit us," Max said. "If we can hit those parts, we should be able to knock it out and grab the crown."

Yamcha pointed to the iron houses. "The crown fell up there. I could go get it."

"It'd be easier if we defeated it first," Muten Roushi said.

Monica loosened her grip on her Claymore. "Maybe we could try to find a way to bring it back to life. Then, we'd have to make sure that no one fished here again. Including you, Max."

"R-right."

"I got it." Kuririn bent his legs and then vaulted toward the fish, his arms outstretched. He threw his hands toward the Den's tailfin as though he were about to embrace it. The Den's fin became transparent, and Kuririn passed through it. His skin paled two shades. He hollered, disappearing into a cloud. Monica nearly dropped her Claymore.

The Den's tailfin solidified, and it swung its tailfin.

"Wait until he comes close," Muten Roushi said, "then strike. We'll experiment until we hit him."

The five gathered beneath the Den. The monsters surrounded the five. The Savage Rams' eyes jutted open. They jumped onto their feet and raised their axes.

A gust of wind from the Den's fin passed over the springs, whipping water. King Baron lowered himself so that the top half of his body poked above water.

Max swung toward the tailfin. When the hammer was an inch away, the fin became transparent, and its head solidified. Max stumbled forward. The Den turned upside-down so that its head was pointed toward him.

Monica slashed; Yamcha and Muten Roushi kicked. The Den's head became transparent, and its pectoral fin became opaque. It slapped Max, and he flew sideways. He barreled into a Rifle Wolf. They rolled for some seconds, struggling all the while.

The Den stood on its tailfin. It bounced into the air and neared the moon, which illuminated its body.

"Hey, Monica, you're pretty convincing," Yamcha said. "You should try and get him on our side. We'd have a much better chance of defeating the Red Dragons."

The Den began its fall. Max pushed himself onto his feet and apologized to the Rifle Wolf. The Rifle Wolf licked its hand and then rubbed that hand upon the rifle.

"I've got an idea, but we'll need Max's help." She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Max, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Max returned to the group.

"We're going to get that fish to be our ally. I'm sure the Red Dragons'll have a hard time defeating it. Actually, I'm sure they won't be able to defeat it at all."

The Den neared them with the passing seconds, its head opaque.

"Get the crown."

Monica's mouth twitched into a scowl at King Baron's voice. "That fish might only want you to stop fishing, like I do."

"Huh?"

"All you have to do is promise that you'll never fish again, and you'll have to keep that promise."

Max reached inside his pouch. The Lure Rod's smooth handle brushed against his fingers. "I'll have to stop fishing. Forever." He glanced at the monsters. "It's to stop the Red Dragons. All right, I'll do it."

Monica's face brightened. "Thanks, Max. You're awesome."

"Jump out of the way, everyone," Muten Roushi said. "Give Max room to talk."

"We'll back you up."

Max nodded at Yamcha who, along with Monica, Gokuu, Muten Roushi, and the monsters, leaped away from Max.

"Uh, please stop." Max sidestepped from the Den, which landed on its tailfin. Its head solidified, and it pushed itself toward Max, who jumped above it. The Den stopped, aimed its head at Max, and launched. Max's flight slowed, yet the Den's flight quickened.

"I-I'm not going to fish anymore."

The Den's head and tailfin became transparent, and it passed through Max's body. It threw its body so that it faced Max, who fell.

"Humans are liars." The Den hovered for a second and then pointed itself toward Max. It dove, its head becoming opaque.

Max landed and then pivoted sideways. "What can I do to prove it to you?"

"If you don't fish within a year, I'll believe you."

"A year?" Monica said. "But that's too long."

The Den's head became transparent, and its body passed through the ground.

"Everyone, run. That fish could pop up anywhere." Monica dashed in all directions, and the remainder of the group copied her, their eyes searching the soil.

Pain shot up, down, through Max's back, and he flew forward. He slammed into one of the hot springs' ledges and fell on his back. Pain exploded through his body. Blood nearly emerged from his mouth, stifling a holler. The Griffon Soldiers ran to his sides.

"We need your help _now_," Yamcha said. "We get your help now, and he'll stop fishing now. No waiting period for anything."

"Yes, I know you need the crown for that selfish guppy."

King Baron emerged from the hot springs. "Guppy?"

"We're trying to defeat the Red Dragons," Colt said. "Surely, you've heard of them."

"I have." The Den's eyes passed over each of the group: Monica's Claymore and the Savage Rams' axes were raised, and Gokuu, Yamcha, and Muten Roushi maintained battle stances.

"If you're not planning on hurting me, why are your weapons still out?"

Yamcha narrowed his eyes. "If you not planning on hurting us, why is your tailfin still solid?"

"One, I never said I wasn't planning on hurting you. Two, I need this tailfin to be solid so I can stand on this solid ground."

Yamcha's cheeks pinked. "Oh."

"Let's do as he says." Muten Roushi straightened. After a moment, Gokuu and Yamcha straightened. Max and Monica deposited their weapons, and the Savage Rams and Rifle Wolves lowered their weapons to the ground.

"Better," the Den said.

King Baron thrashed, and water splashed in all directions. "How dare you obey that fiend, that thief?"

Monica rolled her eyes. "We're doing this for your sake, too. The Red Dragons must be threatening you."

King Baron's stomach expanded. "Me, the mighty, elegant King Baron?"

"They are threatening him," the Den said. "I've seen."

"Why, you brute. You slovenly creature. You—"

"Just telling the truth," the Den said over King Baron's insults. "Anyway, you need my help, you say? So, you're just going to stop fishing for now, but as soon as you get my help, you'll start again?"

"No. I mean it."

The Den averted its gaze to the hot springs. "Well, it's not exactly as if I can move from one body of water to the other. Even though I'm a ghost, I'm tethered to these hot springs. Guess it's because I died here. I'm not doing anything, either, which is why I often annoy Garayan over there."

Max's brows furrowed. "Garayan?"

"You didn't know? His full name is Baron Garayan."

Baron Garayan's flail intensified, and he continued to spew insults.

"Sure, I'll help."

The group exchanged smiles. Yamcha ran to fallen crown and hoisted it. He returned to the hot springs, and Baron Garayan's insults ceased, his eyes twinkling. Yamcha placed the crown upon Baron Garayan's head. Baron Garayan giggled, the water bubbling.

Colt clapped a hand on Max's shoulder. "Good job."

Max scratched the back of his head. "I didn't exactly do much."

"Still, you faced that ghost by yourself, at least for a little while. Takes balls."

Max's brows furrowed once more. "Balls? But I don't have any balls."

Gokuu stepped back. "Y-you don't have them, either? D-does that make you a girl? All this time, I thought you were a guy. You even look like a guy. And you don't have a butt on your chest."

"But I am a guy."

"Butts don't go on chests," Dillo said.

"All right, everyone," Muten Roushi said, "let's figure this out later."

The Den smiled. "It seems you all are happy. Besides, your intent is just a natural impulse. After all, you're human, and humans are at the top of the food chain. Fish just have to adapt to that and, even if I tell you to stop, that doesn't mean other humans'll stop as well. I'm bound to the hot springs anyway. Go ahead and fish whenever and wherever. We'll find a way to stop you one day."

A grin spread on Max's face. "All right. Thanks."

The Den turned toward the hot springs. "I'm heading back in there. Thanks for giving Mr. King over there his crown. Looks like that shut him up, at least for a little while." It faded. Gokuu and the monsters looked around.

"I'll be in hiding," Baron Garayan said. "I don't want my crown to be soiled or stolen. My guards will keep my crown safe. Good luck in your battle royale." He laughed as he dove into the hot springs. Max flinched as water splashed onto him.

"I'm glad he's gone," Yamcha said.

Monica groaned. Yamcha perked a brow. She smiled wryly. "I was hoping that this would stop Max from fishing. Forever."


	55. Their Return

**Chapter Fifty-five: Their Return**

Kuririn, on his hands and knees, panted on the peak of a mountain that stood an inch shorter than the others. The thick clouds and fog enveloped the hot springs and the two fish. Would he be able to return to the hot springs without becoming lost within the jungle of mountains? He sighed and shook his head. Perhaps someone would become hurt and holler.

Max's holler bounced off the mountains. Kuririn's face brightened, and he forced the guilt that threatened to settle in his stomach deeper.

"Listen, if it wasn't for that, we'd be stuck here for an awfully long time."

He placed one foot before the other and slid down the mountain, toward Max's holler, dust billowing behind him. When he was several yards above the ashen ground, he jumped and landed.

He sprinted toward the hot springs, dodging the mountains. Max's holler may have reflected the Red Dragons' arrival. He resisted the urge to quicken his pace. Conserving energy was mandatory.

* * *

Max plopped onto the ground and exhaled. His head snapped up. "What about Kuririn?"

"I was about to say the same thing." Gokuu pointed toward the mountain range. "He went that way. I'll call Kintoun and find—"

"Gokuu!"

"Kuririn?"

Kuririn leaped over the wall surrounding the hot springs and then over the hot springs themselves, landing before Gokuu, sweat glistening on his body. Gokuu grabbed Kuririn's hands, and they danced in a circle.

"You made it. Hey, you're sweating a lot. You must've gone real far."

"You better believe I did. I landed in the middle of a bunch of mountains." He flashed a grin at Muten Roushi. "At first, I ran around the mountains because I heard Max scream, but it was actually taking longer to dodge them than to climb them, so I scaled up and down each mountain that was in my way. My legs are on fire."

He fell backward, Gokuu on top. They laughed. Gokuu rolled off, and Kuririn's laugh became a grunt.

"I don't see the Red Dragons," Kuririn said. "I thought they were the reason why Max was screaming."

Max outstretched his legs. "They haven't come yet. We were fighting the ghost fish for a little while, and it slapped my back. That's why I screamed." He grinned. "But we got it on our side."

"You got the ghost?" Kuririn rubbed his hands together. "We'll definitely be able to beat them now. Hopefully, one of them will make the same mistake I did."

"No one with half a brain would make the mistake you did," Yamcha said.

"You would've done the same thing, Yamcha-san. You're much more reckless than I am."

"No, I wouldn't."

Monica placed a hand on her chin. "I seem to recall Yamcha almost pouncing on the ghost when we first saw it."

Kuririn's mouth twisted into a smile, and Yamcha shrunk, his cheeks reddening.

"We should rest for the night," Muten Roushi said. "The Red Dragons might be on their way. We'll need to take turns keeping watch as well. Since there are so many of us, we should be able to get a good night's rest. Let's choose volunteers."

Max, Monica, and Gokuu raised their hands at the same time, then Kuririn and Yamcha, then the Griffon Soldiers and the Rifle Wolves. The Stick Joes remained near the entrance, the moonlight enveloping their bodies. The Savage Rams collapsed and snored. Monica narrowed her eyes.

"That should be plenty."

The group settled across from the hot springs: The ground was shaped similarly to an overhang, in which Max, Monica, Kuririn, and Yamcha slept, the remainder of the group surrounding them. Gokuu sat before the group of monsters, looking around.

"Just like this?" Gokuu said.

Muten Roushi nodded. "Just like that. Stay alert."

"I will." Gokuu hopped onto the ground above the overhang. Heim Rada was empty, save for the iron houses and Stick Joes. He returned to his original position.

His ears perked, and he looked over his shoulder. A Fire Gundron snuggled near Max, its tail less than an inch from Monica's face. Max's hands gripped his weapons, yet his mouth was parted, his body rising and falling alongside the Fire Gundron's body.

Gokuu crawled, squeezing between the monsters, to the Fire Gundron and cocked his head. Maybe the Fire Gundron was afraid that the Red Dragons would attack it and the rest of the Gundrons first. If that was the case, it should have remained in Mount Gundor.

He scratched his head. When he awakened Max to keep watch, the Gundron would, most likely, startle him. Monica, Kuririn, Yamcha, and the monsters would jolt awake, perhaps somehow confusing the Fire Gundron for a Red Dragon. He could not risk that.

He poked the Fire Gundron's forehead. Its eyes fluttered open, and it stretched its tail so that it tickled Monica's nose. Monica twitched and reached toward her nose to scratch. The Gundron curled its tail around its red orb.

"What're you doing in here?" Gokuu whispered. "Actually, how'd you get in here? There's no opening anyplace. We all checked."

"I was in here before you all. That ghost fish was kinda scary. I mean, a thing that you can't attack?" It shuddered.

"Wow, you're good. None of us heard you at all. The Red Dragons aren't here yet, so you can go back outside. I don't want you to wake up Max or anyone in here. They might think you're a Red Dragon and attack."

The Fire Gundron smiled sheepishly. "I, uh, I wanna stay in here. I don't want to fight the Red Dragons."

"But you said you would."

"I know, but even with all the monsters we got, I still don't think we can beat them."

"Why did you come here in the first place if you didn't wanna fight them?"

"Most of the monsters left Mount Gundor and came here. I was worried that the Red Dragons would've gone there first instead of Heim Rada. I would've been one of the first they killed. Well, maybe not killed since I'm supposed to succeed them, but they still would've punished me real badly."

Gokuu crossed his arms. "This is just like the situation with the Dragons in Starlight Canyon."

"The Dragons are much, much weaker, but they're stronger than the monsters here."

Gokuu's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"Yeah. They could hold their own against us. Actually, they could beat us."

"Max, Monica, and I had a real hard time beating them, and we were fighting one-on-one." His frown deepened. "Now we'll be fighting a whole army of 'em."

The Fire Gundron's body quaked. Max's brows furrowed. Gokuu placed a hand upon the Fire Gundron's back and pressed its body to the ground. It stilled.

"S-s-s-so even you're n-not sure."

Gokuu shrugged. "Guess not. It'll still be a fun fight though. I'll probably learn some things."

"Not if they kill you."

"I won't let that happen. After all, we have to save the world."

The Fire Gundron stared at Gokuu, bug-eyed, for several minutes.

"My hands're getting numb. If I let go, will you shake again?"

The Gundron shook its head. Gokuu freed it. It quaked, and Gokuu gripped it once more.

"You just said you wouldn't."

The Fire Gundron eyed the ceiling. "At this point, I can't help it."

* * *

Despite its worries, the Fire Gundron dozed off. Gokuu released it and, once he ensured that its body had stilled, he returned to his post and remained for two hours, at which time he crept to Max to awaken him. The Fire Gundron snoozed against Max's stomach.

He poked the Gundron's forehead. It shifted.

"Whazzat…?"

"I'm about to wake up Max now. You might wanna leave, or he might attack you and make a big noise. Then everyone would wake up and start fighting each other, and we might not be able to sleep good. If the Red Dragons come back, we won't have enough energy to beat them."

"But you said that you wouldn't be able to beat them."

"I never said that. I'm just not sure anymore. We have the other monsters' help, though. We should be able to."

The Fire Gundron shivered. Max opened his eyes. Then, they jutted wide-open.

He scrambled upright, slamming his head onto the ceiling and releasing a guttural noise. Debris poured on Monica, Kuririn, and Yamcha, all of whom stirred. He aimed his Steal Gun at the Fire Gundron.

"Max, no, he's not a Red Dragon," Gokuu said.

Max had already shot. The Fire Gundron sped to the ceiling, and the beam hit Monica, who started, kicking Kuririn's head. Kuririn grabbed his head and yelped. Yamcha's eyes snapped open.

Monica swung her Claymore. The Gundron dashed sideways, and the Claymore scraped against the ceiling.

"Stop, Monica!" Gokuu said. "He's not—"

Kuririn punched. Yamcha straightened, and the fist crushed his face. A crunching sound rang in the five's ears.

Yamcha drove his foot into Kuririn's gut, knocking the wind out of Kuririn. "A monster?"

"You hit me instead," Kuririn said, his voice hoarse, as he doubled over.

Monica sat on her haunches. "Where'd it go?"

"Wait a minute." Max pointed to the Fire Gundron, which floated in the corner. "It's carrying a red jewel. It's not a Red Dragon."

Yamcha froze in mid-kick.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you guys," Gokuu said. "How'd you get him confused with a Red Dragon?"

Monica gestured toward it. "_Look _at him, Gokuu."

Gokuu did so. "He still doesn't look like a Red Dragon."

"So maybe we were a little drowsy," Yamcha said. "What's he doing in here anyway?"

"He doesn't wanna fight the Red Dragons."

Yamcha leaned against the overhang's wall. "Then why did he come in the first place?"

Gokuu recounted his conversation with the Fire Gundron, and the Fire Gundron left the shadows occasionally to chime in.

Monica's expression softened. "I would've done the same thing."

Max peered over Gokuu's shoulder. "Even after all the noise we made, no one else got up."

"There aren't as many Red Dragons as us, but"—The Fire Gundron nodded toward Gokuu—"he said that he's not sure you'll be able to beat them."

"E-even you?" Monica said.

"But he said that the normal Dragons were stronger than the monsters here."

Monica pursed her lips, her pupils dilating.

Kuririn gulped. "I think that'll be a problem, guys."

"We can't lose hope now," Max said. "We've been training for too long."

The ground rumbled. The five and the Fire Gundron scuttled out of the overhang, the monsters and Muten Roushi bounding onto their feet. The Stick Joes joined the group, moonlight shimmering around their bodies.

The Red Dragons flew over Heim Rada's stop. One's eyes widened momentarily, and it roared, diving toward the group. Its brethren followed.

The Rifle Wolves aimed their rifles and shot in unison. The Red Dragons darted in all directions, the bullets disappearing into the clouds. The Rifle Wolves reloaded and aimed once more.

The Red Dragons blurred and, to the monsters, they disappeared. They landed before the group. The five, Muten Roushi, and the Griffon Soldiers ran before the monsters. The Gundrons trembled with the Wolves' rifles. Sweat enveloped the Savage Rams' bodies, the Stick Joes floating backward.

"How dare you defy us?"

A Wind Gundron squeaked, lowering itself farther behind a Savage Ram's shoulder.

"They're tired of you and your dictatorship." Monica gestured toward the humans. "We're going to help them take back their freedom."

The Red Dragon stepped nearer to her. She craned her neck to glare into its eyes. "Are you?"

Kuririn clenched a hand into a fist. "Y-yes, sir. "

Yamcha glowered at Kuririn, Muten Roushi raised a brow, and the Griffon Soldiers faced him.

Kuririn shrugged. "Well, you know, what do you do when you're nervous?"

"Not that," Yamcha said.

"Enough chatter." A Red Dragon released a war cry. Iron houses' windows shattered, and Gokuu covered his ears. "We have had enough of you."

The Red Dragon bleared. It snatched Gokuu's wrist and tossed him into Kuririn. They bowled into two Griffon Soldiers. They tumbled, struggling to stand.

The Red Dragon wrapped a hand around Max's neck. Max grabbed the Red Dragon's wrists and pulled. The Red Dragon's hands remained still. Gokuu, who had stood and ran toward the Red Dragon, was thrown onto the pile when Max slammed into him.

The remaining three Soldiers had unequipped their shells and each fought against several Red Dragons. Dillo's sword-like arms clashed against a Red Dragon's claws, sparks showering about them. Another Red Dragon punched Dillo's arm, and Dillo crashed to the ground. Colt kicked a Red Dragon's shins. The Red Dragon did not flinch. Another Soldier slashed. The Red Dragon caught his arms and shoved him onto his back.

The Savage Rams swung their axes wildly, the Red Dragons blocking.

"You are too slow, too sluggish." A Red Dragon blocked a Savage Ram's axe and thrust. The Savage Ram barreled onto Max, and they collapsed onto the pile.

The Steam Tores released Steam Kotores, which scampered toward the Red Dragons, stopping periodically to hop in place. The Red Dragons kicked them and, upon impact, the Steam Kotores exploded. The Red Dragons reeled backward.

Two Stick Joes spread their arms, spheres of light emerging from their cloaks. The spheres merged with the Red Dragon's arms, and the Red Dragon froze in mid-swipe. A Steam Tore clawed at its torso, and the Stick Joes lashed their arms to its eyes.

Yamcha charged to a Red Dragon and punched. The Red Dragon grabbed his arm and twisted it over Yamcha's back. Yamcha's eyes briefly lost their color, and he drew in his breath. Gokuu, who had stood, returned to the pile when Yamcha was thrown onto him.

The Red Dragons fighting against two Griffon Soldiers seized the Soldiers' necks and then hurled them on top of the pile. The remaining Griffon Soldier dashed to the Red Dragon's side and slashed. The Red Dragon grabbed its wrists and flung it on top of the pile.

A Red Dragon clasped its hands and swung toward Muten Roushi's head. Muten Roushi sidestepped and jumped, stomping on its wrists, launching himself higher. He kicked another Red Dragon's cheek, twisting the Red Dragon's head sideways.

Muten Roushi landed. The Red Dragon placed its hands on its cheeks and bent its neck to the left and right. Both Red Dragons faced him.

Muten Roushi slipped off the straps from his shell. "This is an emergency, everyone."

Monica reached for the straps that held her shell. A Red Dragon grabbed her arm and sent her on top of the pile. It then turned toward the overhang. Gundrons and two Steam Goyones quaked, vibrating in unison.

"We're going to stop them." Monica rolled off the pile.

Max wriggled from underneath Yamcha and the Griffon Soldiers. "That's right." He and Monica unequipped their shells and charged toward the Red Dragon.

Two Red Dragons landed before them. Max and Monica skidded to stops. To Max's right, a Burger dropped before a Red Dragon, which inhaled, its nostrils glowing crimson. To Max's left, two Steam Tores continuously released Steam Kotores, which exploded near three Red Dragons. The Red Dragons stepped through the explosions to approach the Steam Tores.

Gokuu rushed between Max and Monica, his arm drawn back, hand balled into a fist. A Red Dragon grabbed his fist and thrust him backward, into Kuririn, and onto the pile.

"Damn it!"

The remaining Red Dragons sliced the Gundrons and Steam Goyones, snapped the Gundrons' tails, spewed fireballs, snatched the Gundrons' jewels. In seconds, the Gundrons and Steam Goyones were shredded, crushed, incinerated until a Fire Gundron cowered in the corner.

The Fire Gundron flit around one Red Dragon and then another. A Red Dragon slammed its fists onto the Gundron's back, and it crashed onto the ground. The Red Dragon stomped on the Fire Gundron and smeared its head.

The Fire Gundron half-opened its eyes. "If you're going to kill me, know this. The humans aren't bad. You're making a huge mistake, getting rid of them."

The Red Dragon thrust its foot downward. "Silence. We have been alive much longer than you. We have seen the humans' ways."

"Just because you're old doesn't mean you can't still make mistakes."

The Red Dragon flipped the Fire Gundron onto its side and then swiped its gem. It crushed the red gem using one hand.

The Fire Gundron's body grayed and shriveled so that it was no wider than a tree branch. Its hands and tail curled inward. It gasped and disintegrated.

The five, Muten Roushi, the Griffon Soldiers, and the monsters had repeatedly attempted to run past the Red Dragons, but the Red Dragons had kicked them backward or slashed, causing some members of the group to freeze in midair, mid-punch, mid-swing.

Veins protruded from Gokuu's forehead. Monica gripped her Claymore's hilt so that her skin threatened to rupture at any moment. Max ground his teeth, his jaw aching; his focus on the Red Dragons prevented him from feeling the pain. Kuririn and Yamcha took battle stances. The Griffon Soldiers scraped one arm against the other, sharpening them.

"The other monsters have allowed these humans to run rampant in our territory, and now the humans have brainwashed them."

Yamcha clenched his hands. "You bastards are the ones doing the brainwashing." He lunged, an arm outstretched. The remainder of the group tore toward the Red Dragons, Max shooting his Steal Gun.

"After we take care of our monsters, we'll take care of the humans." A Red Dragon flapped its wings and began to fly. Max smashed its tail with his hammer, slamming the Red Dragon facedown.

"No. Take care of us first."

The Red Dragon yanked its tail from under Max's Digi Hammer. "Do not tell us what to do." It swiveled around, its tail whipping toward Max. Max slid to the Red Dragon's front and stepped toward it. He screwed his hammer into its gut. Blood sprayed from its mouth.

The Red Dragon staggered, and Max shot. It flinched with each hit, growling.

It jabbed its claws into the top of Max's back and ripped. Max released a short holler and leaped away. He shot. The Red Dragon swayed, dodging the beams. With each shot, Max stepped sideways quicker than the Red Dragon could face him. Then, he reached its back and swung. The Red Dragon crashed to the ground, its face buried into the ground. He smashed the Red Dragon's neck repeatedly.

"C-coward." It coughed. "Attacking from behind?"

"You didn't fight fairly with the monsters."

The Red Dragon grabbed his hammer, stopping his assault, and pelted him toward the wall. Max placed his hands onto the wall and propelled himself toward the Red Dragon, shooting. The Red Dragon winced with each beam that exploded against its chest, stomach, neck as it stood.

The Red Dragon roared. Two Red Dragons stopped fighting a Burger and flew to Max. The Burger stomped toward Max, spewing green spheres of goo. The Red Dragons tore open Max's sides using their claws. Max yelped and galloped from the Dragons, shooting. He flinched, searing pain bombarding through his sides.

The Burger flanked his side. He nodded at the Burger, and the Burger returned his nod.

Max shot the rushing Red Dragons, rummaging inside his pouch for Dr. Dell's medicine, and the Burger coughed goo. The Red Dragons' approach did not slow.

The Red Dragons swiped. The Burger landed before Max and inhaled. The Red Dragons' claws blurred, shredding the Burger's body. The Burger's remains disintegrated.

Max's arms dropped. The pain in his sides had numbed. He tightened his grip on his weapons, and veins bulged from his wrists.

He charged toward the Red Dragons, red enveloping his vision. The Red Dragons swiped.

The world around Max dimmed. He squinted up at the Red Dragons, their nostrils glowing crimson. "Help…"

* * *

Grunts, thuds, roars, explosions. The Den opened its eyes.

"Must be time." It faded.

* * *

A scarlet glow illuminated Max's face. He planted his foot and pushed to leap backward. A Den-shaped outline appeared before him and then solidified, covering his vision. It threw its fins around him and rocketed upward. The fireballs exploded against the wall.

"You're here," Max said.

"I said I would be." It narrowed its eyes. "Three." It tightened its grip on Max's torso and launched toward the Red Dragons. One released a fireball. The Den moved upward, and its tailfin became transparent. The fireball passed, the heat intensifying the pain in his sides.

"Can you dodge them completely next time?"

"I won't be able to hit them if I do that."

Max gritted his teeth and grunted. The Red Dragons beat their wings. When they neared the Den, its body, save its head and the fins holding Max, became transparent. Two Red Dragons flew through it. It headbutted the remaining Red Dragon, and it crashed into the ground, dust erupting around it.

The two Red Dragons swooped toward the Den. The Den stopped and faced them, its body becoming transparent. The Red Dragons scowled.

Max pulled his gun-wielding arm out of the Den's pectoral fins and shot. The Red Dragons dodged the beams.

"Stop it. You'll make it harder for me to hit them."

"S-sorry." Max thrust his arm between the Den's fins.

The Red Dragons advanced from opposing sides. The Den flew upward, and the Red Dragons' heads ploughed into each other. They spiraled to the ground.

"Much more stupid than I thought." The Den dove to the Red Dragons, both of which staggered onto their feet. It slapped one using its tailfin. One bowled into the other, and they crashed into the overhang, debris blanketing them. When the debris cleared, the Red Dragons were gone.

"They've disintegrated," the Den said.

Max's face brightened three shades. "All right. I think those are the first ones we've defeated. Well, you."

The Den turned toward the remainder of the Red Dragons. "But I can't fight them all at once."

Stick Joes lashed, bruising air, the Red Dragons fisting the Stick Joes' orbs, causing the Stick Joes to barrel in the air. One Red Dragon thrust its claws through a Stick Joe's head, and the Stick Joe disintegrated.

Three other Red Dragons stabbed the remaining Stick Joes' heads until all had disintegrated. They then faced the Savage Rams, which swung their axes toward the Red Dragons' hearts. The Red Dragons vaulted above, and the Rifle Wolves shot. The bullets whizzed over the Red Dragons' backs as they thrust themselves downward, clawing at the Savage Rams. Max's eyes widened as gore replaced the Savage Rams.

The Red Dragons stomped on the Rifle Wolves to land, flattening them. They disintegrated.

The Den placed Max onto his feet. "I'll do the best I can and, to do that, I can't hold onto you." It faded and reappeared behind a Red Dragon, which swung a fist toward a Griffon Soldier. It slapped the Red Dragon, and it barreled into four of its brethren. They crashed into the wall and disintegrated.

A Red Dragon pointed to the Den. "Focus on him."

The Red Dragons stopped, mid-slash, and flew toward the Den, whose body became transparent. It rocketed above the Red Dragons, and the Red Dragons followed, gusts of winds from the beating of their wings causing Monica to stumble backward.

Gokuu bent his knees. "Let's get them, Kuririn, Yamcha, Kamesennin."

"It might not be best if we all charged into the line of fire. We're outnumbered." Muten Roushi motioned toward the carnage. Fewer than twenty monsters remained, half of which hid under the overhang or in the hot springs, occasionally surfacing to breathe.

"And we don't have any long-range attacks," Colt said.

Max and Monica skidded before them, Monica charging her Destruction Brassard. "We do." She released multiple fireballs, and Max shot multiple times. The Red Dragons darted sideways, upward, downward, the fireballs and beams flying past.

"Keep going, Max," Monica said. "We might be able to catch them off-guard."

"Right."

"We gotta help, Kamesennin. We have to take any chance we have to get rid of these guys."

Muten Roushi watched the Red Dragons for several seconds. Then, he nodded. "All right. Be careful."

Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamcha, and Muten Roushi leaped toward the Red Dragons. Three Red Dragons stopped and turned around. Gokuu kicked a Red Dragon's head, twisting it upward. He clapped his hands onto its head and flipped onto his feet. He kicked and punched the Red Dragon rapidly.

Kuririn slammed his feet onto a Red Dragon's lower back and pushed himself toward the army. The Red Dragon he had stomped on roared and flew to him. It sliced through Kuririn's chest and stomach and then punched Kuririn's head. Flashing red lights enveloped Kuririn's vision. He fell into the hot springs and did not surface.

"Kuririn." Gokuu jumped off the Red Dragon's back, toward the hot springs. When the Red Dragon flew after him, he unsheathed his Nyoi-bo. "Extend."

The Nyoi-bo did as it was commanded. The Red Dragon swayed so that the Nyoi-bo pierced air. Gokuu swung, and the Red Dragon dove beneath. It grabbed the Nyoi-bo using both hands and pegged it and Gokuu, who held onto it. They whirled near Mount Gundor's entrance and collided with the ground, which burst around them.

Yamcha, who had kicked the Red Dragon's head sideways and jabbed it repeatedly using his unbroken arm, faced the hot springs, toward which he then jumped. The Red Dragon released a fireball. Yamcha's eyes widened as a red glow covered his face.

Muten Roushi, who flew toward the group of Red Dragons, looked when Yamcha hollered. Yamcha plummeted to the ground, pieces of his clothing scattered on his body, which was scorched black. He lay, his eyes closed.

Muten Roushi narrowed his eyes at Gokuu, who also lay motionless. Kuririn was nowhere in his line of sight.

Two Red Dragons turned around and dove to him. Muten Roushi punched and kicked. The Red Dragons dodged. One swiped; the other kicked.

Muten Roushi flew backward. He crashed beside Yamcha, the ground rupturing as he slid through it. He attempted to stand yet remained still. He attempted to ball his hand into a fist, yet his hand remained still. He lay, watching the Red Dragons.

Monica climbed out of the hot springs, Kuririn in her arms. She laid him beside Yamcha and rolled her hands over his chest, water jetting out of his mouth. Max applied Dr. Dell's medicine to Yamcha's body, which returned to its normal complexion. Yamcha's body sunk, and a smile spread onto his face.

Colt and Dillo crouched beside Gokuu, rubbing Dr. Dell's medicine onto his wounds. From the corners of their eyes, they watched the Red Dragons and the Den, which the Red Dragons approached with the passing seconds. The Den quickened its flight until the Red Dragons lagged.

The Den huffed. It could not defeat the army of Red Dragons alone: When it solidified, another Red Dragon could hit him, and it would have to become transparent again. A never-ending cycle would ensue.

_Sorry. _It faded and reappeared near the bottom of the hot springs.

"Where did he go?"

The Red Dragons growled, searching Heim Rada using their eyes for several minutes. No sign of the Den.

"If he has not reappeared, he must have left for good. He must have realized that he is outnumbered. A smart move."

A Red Dragon crossed its arms. Max and Monica crouched near Kuririn, Yamcha, and Muten Roushi, and two Griffon Soldiers knelt beside Gokuu. Three other Griffon Soldiers walked toward their comrades.

It pointed to the Griffon Soldiers. "They are next." It led its brethren toward the Griffon Soldiers.

"They're coming." Dillo hoisted Gokuu above his head and dashed toward Max and Monica, jumping down the ledge before the hot springs. He placed Gokuu beside Kuririn.

Monica stood, twirling her Claymore.

"No. Stay here and help your friends."

"But we have to help. You can't take them on alone" —She scowled—"especially since even the ghost left us hanging."

"Our training is more vigorous than yours. The emperor made us fight the monsters in the palace, and they're much stronger than the monsters here. Those monsters went all out. The Red Dragons aren't as strong as them. Trust us."

A Red Dragon scoffed. "You believe that the monsters in a man-made structure are stronger as us? We doubt that."

"We don't." The Griffon Soldiers sprang above the Red Dragons, their arms crossed. As they fell, the Red Dragon swiped its claws, which scraped against the Soldiers' arms, the Soldiers wincing.

Monica raised her Claymore.

"Protect your friends," Colt said. "The emperor has commanded us that you stay with them. We'll have to keep you from helping with force if you try, and that'll be a huge distraction."

Monica's body sunk. She squatted beside Kuririn yet watched the Soldiers in her peripheral vision. Colt slashed toward the Red Dragon's face. The Red Dragon raised its arm. Colt ripped from elbow to wrist. The Red Dragon withdrew its arm, smoke puffing from its nostrils, as Colt landed.

Two additional Red Dragons ran to the Griffon Soldiers so that the number of Red Dragons totaled five.

"Looks like you all are the cowards." Dillo pointed to Kuririn. "Fight against that kid three against one, but you fight us one on one. Where's your pride?"

The Red Dragons snarled, and three released fireballs. The Griffon Soldiers jumped above the Red Dragons. The Red Dragons took to the skies and surrounded the Griffon Soldiers. They swiped and swung their tails.

The Soldiers hollered: The Red Dragons' claws had pierced their armor and split their stomachs and sides, their tails crushing their chests, stealing their breaths.

The Soldiers forced their eyes to remain open and jabbed. The Red Dragons leaned backward so that the arms pierced air.

The Red Dragons flew above the Griffon Soldiers and slammed their fists onto the Soldiers' backs. Cracking noises echoed. The Griffon Soldiers plunged to the ground, which ruptured. They lay, motionless.

The Red Dragons landed before the Soldiers. Using its foot, one flipped Colt onto his back. His mask had broken, revealing his creamy, peach-colored face, his brown bangs hanging above his eyes. His mouth was parted, yet no breaths emerged.

The Red Dragons turned toward the five and Muten Roushi, Max and Monica crouched beside Gokuu and Kuririn, respectively. Monica clenched her hand into a fist. Max stood and aimed his Steal Gun.

"We will finish you momentarily," a Red Dragon said. "Let us gather the other monsters and make them see what we have done to these humans, show them how they will look once we are finished with them." It smirked. "No. They will look worse."

Max moved his trigger finger.

"No, don't." Muten Roushi hacked blood. "You don't stand a chance by yourselves. Please, heal us first."

Monica stared at Colt, her irises colorless. Max bit his lip.

"They've given you an opportunity to rest. Take it."

Max lowered his gun. He crouched beside Gokuu. Monica fell to her knees.

"It wasn't your fault, Miss."

Monica nodded slowly. "It was."

The Red Dragons took to the skies, their wings whipping wind that rolled Colt's mask onto his stomach and tousled his hair.

* * *

The Red Dragons grabbed monsters by the temples, crushing their heads, and forced monsters that they could not carry to follow. Savage Rams and other monsters that were unable to fly climbed onto their backs. They uprooted the Steam Tores, discoloring the Tores further. Stick Joes floated behind the Red Dragons. The monsters trembled, and some monsters prayed for places in heaven.

The Red Dragons arrived at the hot springs. The humans stood, weapons raised, battle stances taken. The Red Dragons disappeared and reappeared behind them. Their hands blurred, and the humans fell, facedown.

"They were undergoing training in order to defeat us," a Red Dragon said as it and its brethren reappeared before the monsters, some of which gasped. "They were using those weights." It pointed at the shells scattered throughout the hot springs. "I assume they were heavy for the humans, but they are as light as feathers to us." It picked up two shells in each hand and lifted them above its head. It dropped them, and the ground quaked. "Any attempts to resist us are futile. No matter how much you train, you cannot outperform the greatness of Dragons."

"But aren't humans a lot weaker than monsters?" a Savage Ram said. Other monsters resisted the urge to look at it, continuing to stare at the Red Dragons for fear that they would be associated with the one who questioned the Dragons.

A Red Dragon scowled, and the Savage Ram stepped back.

"S-sorry. I was just curious."

"You are correct. However, our point still stands. You all have been slacking in your training, which is why you all were not able to defeat the humans. Therefore, the humans were stronger than you. For your laziness, and for your allowing _humans_ onto our holy grounds…"

The monsters took multiple steps back. A Rifle Wolf's steps turned into a scurry. Its scurry became a sprint. A Red Dragon appeared before it, and it thrust its claws into the Rifle Wolf's eyes. It scooped out the eyes, and the Rifle Wolf leaned forward. Before it could reach the ground, it disintegrated.

"No, do not just do that," another Red Dragon said. "Mutilate them."

The Red Dragons shredded monsters' faces, gouged their hearts, sliced off their limbs. An eyeless, armless, legless, and earless Rifle Wolf toppled into the hot springs. Some monsters ran; others retaliated. The uninjured Red Dragons blurred as they attacked.

The slayings continued into the morning, at which time the Red Dragons turned toward the humans.


	56. Slain

**Chapter Fifty-six: Slain**

"Everyone, wake up."

The five stirred at Muten Roushi's raspy voice. Kuririn clutched his head as he hoisted himself. He chuckled, his eyelids fluttering as they attempted to open. "I had a dream last night where the Red Dragons killed all the monsters."

Gokuu rubbed his eyes, staggering to his feet beside Kuririn. "I had the same dream."

"Wow. Is dreaming the same exact dream even possible?"

"It's gotta be if I had the same dream as you."

"Wasn't…dream."

Monica gasped at the Red Dragon's claws plunged inside Muten Roushi's heart. She flipped onto her feet, raising her Claymore. "Get up, everyone."

Kuririn's eyes snapped wide-open. "Muten Roushi-sama." He charged toward the Red Dragon whose claws were embedded into Muten Roushi's heart. Another slapped him backward using its tail. Gokuu caught him, the force causing Gokuu to slide, creating trenches in the ground.

Max shot and Monica released fireballs, both dashing toward the Red Dragon, and Yamcha leaped. Two Red Dragons landed before Muten Roushi. Each stomped on Max's and Monica's chest. They flew into the wall behind the hot springs, the wall cracking, rocks bouncing off their heads. Max placed his feet upon the wall and thrust. He landed on the ledge surrounding the hot springs. Monica dropped beside him, and they tore toward Muten Roushi.

One of the two Red Dragons grabbed Yamcha's head and slammed him to the ground, which ruptured. Upon its releasing his head, Yamcha inhaled dust, and he hacked mixtures of blood and dirt. He began to stand, yet the Red Dragon drove its foot into his stomach, and his eyes briefly lost color. He crashed into the wall bordering the hot springs, into which he then flipped.

He surfaced. Two Red Dragons smirked at Max and Monica, both of whom rushed toward them, their footprints deep, dirt splaying around their ankles. The Red Dragons flew upward, revealing the color draining from Muten Roushi's skin. His arms and legs became limp, the Red Dragon before him scooping gore using its claws. It opened its hand, allowing the gore to splatter onto Muten Roushi's clothes and sunglasses.

"That is what we will do to you."

Max and Monica slowed to stops. Yamcha froze, his hands placed upon the hot springs' ledge. Gokuu dropped a slack-jawed Kuririn onto his feet.

Max's eyes widened, his breaths becoming shallow. "He's not moving."

Monica's Claymore slid out of her fist, which then clenched so that her fingernails drew blood. Her Claymore clattered to the ground.

Kuririn walked to Muten Roushi, a grin spreading on the Red Dragon's face, and crouched. He tapped Muten Roushi's shoulder.

"Muten Roushi-sama?" His body and voice trembled.

He did not respond.

Gokuu joined Kuririn and punched Muten Roushi's chest, his knuckles becoming covered in blood.

"He wouldn't let anyone just hit him like that." Gokuu's jaw clenched, and his body quaked. His vision blurred.

Kuririn's mouth twisted into a shaky smile. "Hey, buddy, don't do that. He's just…" Sweat erupted upon his throbbing forehead, and he caressed it using a hand.

Yamcha mustered what little strength remained to climb out of the hot springs and kneel beside Kuririn. He removed Muten Roushi's sunglasses, revealing blank eyes.

Max dropped his weapons, dust clouding them, his breaths stopping. His knees grew weak, his legs wobbling. Black encompassed Monica's vision, and she leaned sideways, onto Max, who remained still. The sunglasses slipped from Yamcha's grip, Yamcha paling and nearly falling onto his back.

Gokuu stood, eyes narrowed into slits, frown creasing his skin, and walked toward the Red Dragon. "You killed him."

"That is obvious."

Gokuu blurred, as did the Red Dragon, and they appeared before each other. Gokuu sent a flurry of punches and kicks, the Red Dragon swatting each and then punching. Gokuu grabbed its fist and swung it into the wall, which split in several places. He appeared before it, screwed his foot into its cheeks, its head swiveling, loosening its fangs, and punched and kicked rapidly.

Another wrapped its hand around his neck, its claws digging into his skin, and pulled backward so that he looked at the ashen sky. A cracking noise ensued. Gokuu thrashed, yet his arms and legs could not reach either Red Dragon.

Three other Red Dragons joined its brethren. One clawed at Gokuu's head, carving trenches into his scalp and face. Another's fist spiraled into the small of his back; a cracking noise ensued once more.

Kuririn hung over Muten Roushi, tears rolling down his cheeks. His hand found the sunglasses, and it grasped them.

"Kuririn. Kuririn!" Yamcha shook Kuririn's shoulders, yet his expression remained the same. Yamcha growled and, glancing at Muten Roushi, he stood and faced the Red Dragons that clawed, punched, kicked Gokuu. He bent his knees to leap.

Claws stabbed his stomach, nearly protruding from the other end, and the tears increased in flow. The Red Dragon threw him into a corner of Heim Rada blanketed in darkness. Yamcha landed on his back, dust covering him, blood emerging from his mouth. The darkness grew darker: Five Red Dragons stood over him.

A Red Dragon smacked Kuririn's face, turning his head so that he looked at the hot springs. Light brown returned to Kuririn's irises, and he glowered at the Red Dragon.

"Are you finally awake?"

Kuririn thrust a foot toward the Red Dragon, howling. The Red Dragon gripped his calf and slammed him beside Muten Roushi. Kuririn's eyes momentarily lost their brownish hue. Four smirking Red Dragons surrounded Kuririn.

Monica shut her eyes, counted to five, and opened them. Red Dragons surrounded Muten Roushi and Kuririn. A Red Dragon's torso enveloped her vision. It picked up her Claymore and snapped its blade in half. Monica's eyes flashed to life, and she scowled.

Max turned toward Gokuu, Monica, Kuririn, then Yamcha. He grabbed his weapons. Perhaps no Red Dragons remained to fight him. Who would he help?

Claws were buried into his forehead and then ripped downward. The Red Dragon punched his shoulder, and he crashed to the ground. It thrust its claws into his stomach and carried him to a corner of Heim Rada, its brethren following. Max grabbed its wrists and pulled; the Red Dragon's grip remained steadfast.

* * *

The Red Dragon hurled Gokuu to the ground, spots blotting his vision. His body would not respond to his pleas for it to move. One immersed its claws within his chest, its claws near its heart, and slashed. Gokuu sharpened his focus on the Red Dragon to prevent his body from falling like Muten Roushi's had. It then punched, crushing his chest. Blood sprayed from his mouth, darkening into scarlet when mixed with the blood upon his face. He flew into the hot springs, the water tinting crimson. He gasped, flailing. He turned his flail into a swim and surfaced. A fist neared him, and he was forced underwater. A Red Dragon poked its head underwater, its nostrils flared, and breathed a fireball. The fireball dissipated, yet the water's temperature increased tenfold. The heat seared Gokuu's skin, causing his arms to bubble alongside the water. He swam but he did not reach the surface in time.

* * *

A Red Dragon's hand closed around Kuririn's neck, its nails digging into his skin.

"Do more than that."

"Do you all not want to slice him as well? I am holding him for you."

Kuririn writhed. A Red Dragon grabbed his arm and pulled. _Snap_. Kuririn's eyes threatened to shut, yet he forced them to remain open; instead, his vision blurred with tears and red. A grin spread upon the Red Dragon's face as it pulled. The pain expanded to encompass his body. He hollered, thrashing as best he could.

_Muten Roushi-sama._

Kuririn's bloodshot eyes opened. His arm lashed toward the Red Dragon, a fist at its end. The Red Dragon swayed, and Kuririn bent his arm, elbowing the Red Dragon, which reared back, bone crushing bone. It slapped Kuririn's arm away so that it could clutch its forehead. Another grabbed Kuririn's arm and pulled. A crack.

The Red Dragons gripping his arms threw him. Kuririn barreled through the air and then stopped when he neared the wall. A Red Dragon held him by the torso. It leered, aimed his head at the wall, and thrust.

* * *

A Red Dragon snatched Yamcha's neck and squeezed. Black covered Yamcha's vision momentarily.

His fist grazed the Red Dragon's side, and the Red Dragon smashed his face using his foot. Another crushed the back of his head. Yamcha's cheeks puffed. He opened his mouth; teeth clattered onto the Red Dragon's face, the Red Dragon flinching. It hurled him to the ground.

It pounded his chest using its foot, stealing his breath. Another bit his stomach, spitting skin onto his eyes. Yamcha shook his head, tossing the chunk sideways. The Red Dragons continued to gouge. One released a fireball, searing the surviving skin.

Yamcha thrust a foot toward a Red Dragon's shin. One gripped his ankle and pulled. The ligaments tore. Yamcha gritted his teeth, and additional tears pooled to his eyes' surfaces.

The Red Dragons stomped, clawed, incinerated skin, the pain numbing all senses.

But he did not holler.

He swung his remaining leg toward the Red Dragon's stomach. The Red Dragon swatted it, tossing him into a fist. The fist thrust him into claws, which punctured his chest. He hung, motionless.

The Red Dragon grabbed his arms and pulled. He curled his lips inward and shut his eyes, the ligaments ripping asunder, his tears wetting the ground.

He visualized Griffon destroying the world once more, the bunny laughing. Muten Roushi shook his head. Yamcha's willpower was no larger than the pain.

* * *

Multiple fireballs from Monica's Destruction Brassard exploded against the Red Dragons' bodies. They continued to approach too quickly for her to focus her energy for a charge attack.

Between two Red Dragons was a gap, toward which she rushed. A Red Dragon placed the palm of its hand onto her head and shoved her onto the ground, bending her neck ninety degrees. It then raised her head and then slammed it onto the ground repeatedly. Red spotted her vision each time it did so.

She could not reach to charge her Destruction Brassard. Perhaps the shells had strengthened her arms. She punched. The Red Dragon grabbed her fist and twisted her arm over her head. She bit her lip, drawing blood.

"Weak."

The joint cracked. Then, it pulled.

Another tore her arm so that gashes lined it. She gritted her teeth in a futile attempt to bear the pain.

She swung the stub of her sword sideways, but the sword parted air, and the Red Dragons sliced her back, up, down, sideways—she lost track.

One grabbed her ponytail and thrust her head backward so that she looked at a Red Dragon's legs. The Red Dragon crushed her neck using its foot, and she gasped for air that never came.

* * *

Max smashed a Red Dragon's foot and then screwed his hammer into another's torso. The Red Dragon grabbed his hammer. Max tightened his grip, causing his knuckles to whiten, and pulled. The Red Dragon snatched the hammer and tossed it near another Red Dragon's feet.

Pain shot through his back, and he hurtled, headfirst, into a Red Dragon's chest. Stars flashed across his vision, and blood dampened his hair. Before he could fall to the ground, the Red Dragon clasped its hands and slammed its fist onto his head, splotches of red covering his vision as he crumpled to the ground.

His arms were gripped, and he was lifted to meet one's eyes. He aimed his Steal Gun at its eyes and shot. The Red Dragon swayed, the beams exploding against the wall, and then pegged him. Another punched his neck, sending him facedown. His breath was briefly expelled from his body. All parts of his body were stomped, smeared onto the rock.

The Red Dragon's claws were plunged into Muten Roushi's heart. Griffon's soldiers tore through his mother's body.

Max spread energy throughout his body, around which a yellow aura appeared, the Red Dragons rubbing his body against the rocks. No pain.

The aura solidified and burst around him. The Red Dragons staggered backward, some roaring. Max flipped onto his feet and shot at the Red Dragon that had snatched his hammer.

The Red Dragons stomped toward him. Although the Steal Gun's beams connected with the Red Dragon, it continued to run.

Max glanced around for anything he could use to retrieve his Digi Hammer. His vision blackened; a Red Dragon had pounded him onto the ground. The Red Dragons sliced and tugged every part of his body.

He focused the energy in his body. However, the pain grew overwhelming, and it became limp.

_I won't stop._

An ache burst through Max's head as he attempted to lift his body. He forced his watering eyes to remain open. A Red Dragon carved trenches through his back. His body burned and was darkened to crimson.

"Mother..." Max fell.

* * *

From wall to wall—were there walls?—was white. No humans, monsters, animals. No capsule-houses, iron houses, nothing.

They had pierced his neck, nearly gouged out his heart, and probably planned on tearing off his limbs.

They had gouged Muten Roushi's innards.

He took a battle stance, expecting them to protrude from the blankness. A tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and his expression brightened: Before him stood a bald, sunglasses-clad male. The younger male moved his mouth up and down, yet no words emerged. He cocked his head. The older man shrugged.

Another bald male, an inch shorter than him and garbed in the same outfit as he, materialized beside him. The male's eyes widened, and his head whipped in all directions. Then, he caught sight of the older male, grinned, and attempted to speak. When no sound came, he furrowed his brow.

The younger bald male wiped his eyes using his arm. His eyes were glossy as they rested upon the older bald male.

Another black-haired male, several feet taller than the three of them and donning similar clothing, solidified before them. He examined his body. No injuries. He stared at his body for some seconds, bug-eyed. His hands dropped to his sides.

The oldest tapped him on the shoulder, and he swung a fist. The oldest caught it. The tallest blushed scarlet, rubbing the back of his head and grinning toothily all the while. His teeth clenched together, and his grin broadened. Not only had his injuries healed, but his teeth had returned as well.

A blond boy wearing a hunting cap appeared beside the tall, black-haired male. He twisted his body in all directions to familiarize himself with the surroundings, of which there were none. Upon seeing the oldest, his face brightened two shades. He said something. His brow furrowed, and he said more. He placed a hand upon his chin and looked down, at his clean body. He mouth hung ajar.

A red-haired female appeared beside the blond. She pointed to each of the males, looking them up and down and then looking at herself. Her jaw slackened. She smiled at the oldest, yet her smile twitched, and she shifted from side to side.

The area grayed. A white orb appeared against the gray, bathing their bodies in white and warmth. The blond closed his eyes to heighten the feeling. Would he feel similarly when he hugged his mother?

"Young heroes, it is not yet time for you to die."

The blond's eyes snapped open, and his and the others', save the oldest's, mouths moved as though they spoke. No sounds escaped.

"You have served our world well over several months. Your enhancing the world, both physically and emotionally, cannot yet end. You still have many milestones to reach."

The group exchanged furrowed brows and cocked heads, save the oldest.

"We have also received a request from a 'Sirus.'"

The blond faced the red-haired girl, whose mouth hung open. He assumed that she was as confused as he and returned his attention to the orb.

"His request entails that you all remain alive until you see him. That time quickly approaches. If you all cannot defeat the Red Dragons then, surely, you cannot defeat him."

The tallest opened his mouth, remembered that he could not speak, and slid his hand over the length of his face, leaning onto his right leg.

"You must talk to him like you talked to the monsters in Ocean's Roar Cave. Give him what his heart desires."

The red-haired girl moved her mouth as though she spoke. Perhaps, if she did so often enough, words would emerge.

"I now bestow upon you, once again, life. Good luck." The orb expanded, covering the group's visions. It then enveloped them in white.

* * *

The Red Dragons dragged the bodies near the hot springs, where Muten Roushi lay.

"Let us allow the fish to eat them." One raised Muten Roushi. "Afterwards, let us continue to train the Gundrons."

"What have you done?"

The childlike voice boomed around the Red Dragons, all of which whirled in all directions, one dropping Muten Roushi into a heap.

"Who dares speak to us in such a disrespectful tone?"

"You have no right to tell me what tone I speak in. I am the one who commands you."

The Red Dragon took to the air, searching the sky for movements. "We rule everything in Heim Rada."

"I rule everything in the world."

Purplish clouds enveloped the Red Dragons, and the Red Dragon fell to the ground. They clutched their heads, roaring.

"No. You do not deserve even death."

The cloud darkened so that it was nearly black. The Red Dragons' roars heightened so that they sounded feminine. They melted into the clouds.

"Out of my sight. Forever."

The clouds disappeared, and the Red Dragons floated in darkness, the clouds causing their bodies to feel as though they were being torn to shreds, their limbs' ligaments severed, their internal organs gouged.

* * *

Monica jolted upright. No sweat rested upon her forehead, and she did not pant. Her grip on her repaired Claymore was loose. Maybe whatever had healed her had repaired her Claymore as well.

She sat near the hot springs. Max, Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamcha and Muten Roushi were sprawled around her. Gokuu hoisted himself onto his haunches, stretching and yawning. He looked at Monica with half-lidded eyes.

"I had a dream that the Red Dragons killed us."

Kuririn twitched and then straightened. "I had the same dream, buddy." He placed a finger upon his chin as Max shifted his body's weight to his knees. "Is it even possible to have the same exact dream as someone else?"

"It's gotta be if I had the same dream as you. Why'd we fall asleep out here?"

"That wasn't a dream, guys," Monica said.

Muten Roushi stood, balancing himself on his cane. "It wasn't."

Yamcha ran a hand through his hair, his eyes squinting. "If that wasn't a dream, then what was it?"

"It had to have been real," Gokuu said. "There's nothing else it could've been."

The group remained silent for several minutes, checking their bodies, balling hands into fists, punching and kicking imaginary monsters.

Once everyone had settled, furrowing their brows and cocking their heads at their vitality, Monica said, "I'm going to go ahead and speak for all of us. What happened?"

"I think we…died," Max said. "The Red Dragons killed us. That thing said something like, 'It's not time for you to die yet.'"

"So, that's what heaven's really like?" Kuririn frowned. "I thought there was supposed to be a city and spirits floating around. I don't want to die if there won't be anything to do."

Muten Roushi pushed his sunglasses nearer to his eyes. "I think that place was something between life and death. We might have only been taken there because we're needed to restore the world, like that orb said."

"Then we don't need to worry about dying when we fight the monsters anymore."

"We should still be cautious. We don't know if that orb or whoever Sirus is will save us again, at least once we see Sirus. The orb said that we'll see Sirus soon, but I've never heard of Sirus before. Monica, Gokuu, Max, have any of you heard of Sirus?"

Monica leaned onto her right foot, recalling hers, Max's, and Gokuu's encounters with Griffon and the Toy Rock's explanations. "I think Sirus is Griffon's real name. The Toy Rock told me that a human gave Griffon his name. The orb—it looked like a Terra Fairy, like the one we saw in Veniccio—it told us that we should meet Sirus soon. We're going 10,000 years in the past after we restore Gundorada Workshop to see Griffon, but the Terra Fairy never mentioned someone named Griffon. Sirus is Griffon's real name."

"Not only that," Max said, "but the Terra Fairy also told us to give him what his heart desires. If something happened to the human that named Sirus instead of that human betraying Sirus, then that human must be what Sirus' heart desires."

Monica cast her eyes downward. "Maybe that human only went into hiding because of other humans. The way Sirus is treating the rest of the world, though, I think that human died. If he did, then it's impossible to get him back."

"No, it's not. We can get the Dragonballs."

The group turned their attention to Gokuu, who reached inside Max's pouch and withdrew the four-star Dragonball.

"Maybe we don't have to kill Griff—Sirus to stop him from destroying the world again. Maybe we just have to wish for that human to come back to Sirus. We'll go to Sirus' time, grab the Dragonballs, and wish that human back instead of wishing for Sirus to disappear."

"How are we going to persuade Sirus to give us the Dragonballs?" Monica said. "I don't think he'll believe us. At least, that thing inside of him won't."

"We'll have to kill that thing, then."

"Wait a minute," Max said. "That thing started as a feeling. If we get the Dragonballs and make the wish before that thing controlling Sirus can stop us, then it might disappear. Feelings disappear when you do something about them."

"Okay. We'll have to be incredibly fast. Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamcha, Kamesennin, you four run the fastest. When I went to Sirus' palace, the Dragonballs were kept in a vault. He might have moved them, so we'll have to get the Dragon Radar from Luna Lab, since that one's a better one than Buruma's."

Kuririn placed a hand upon the back of his head. "Hopefully, that thing doesn't stop it from working somehow."

Monica narrowed her eyes. "Please don't jinx us."

"What happened to the Red Dragons?" Yamcha said.

Muten Roushi stroked his beard. "The Red Dragons had killed the monsters after we'd woken up. We couldn't have killed the Red Dragons. What did?"

"The Den, maybe?"

Monica crossed her arms. "It chickened out on us, Max. I don't think it would try to face the Red Dragons by itself again."

"The Red Dragons wouldn't leave before killing us, so something must've killed them. Maybe the Terra Fairies did so they wouldn't bother us again."

"It makes more sense for Sirus to have killed them." Her expression softened. "Somehow, he overcame that thing inside him to kill the Red Dragons and keep us alive. I can't help but worry that that thing is extremely angry. I hope nothing comes of it."

"No use worrying about that until we get to the past." Yamcha rolled his shoulders and then wound his formally broken arm. "Now we should head to Palm Brinks and Veniccio and tell them the good news."

Monica nodded. "Right. We have a bunch of Geostones. Buruma can restore Heim Rada, and then we can head to Gundorada Workshop to see what's changed."

Max watched the sun rise between the clouds. "Yeah. Good news."

* * *

Pau rested his head against the cavern's wall. Mayor Need had calmed further each day they had remained in the cavern despite occasional yelling and thuds. Gerons, Flintols, Corsairs, and other monsters brought beef and freshwater three times per day.

Pau spoke of Shingala to distract everyone from the Red Dragons. Claire had giggled, said, "How cute." Donny's mouth was parted, and his body rose and fell. At least he did not frighten Mayor Need, who also seemed engaged in Pau's tales: He nodded after every sentence, and his expression was bright.

The hollers and thuds increased in frequency and intensity, and Mayor Need's quaking become more constant until, two days after they had settled into the cavern, the Corsair crawled to them, grinning toothlessly.

"They're gone."

Pau exchanged brightened eyes with Claire, Donny, and Mayor Need, Donny's smile broader than usual.

"Your friends haven't come back yet. We're going to keep you in here 'til they give us the okay."

During those days, Pau had told more stories of Shingala. Claire seemed invested in his tales, yet Mayor Need's eyes were distant. Claire had nudged him using her elbow.

"I'm sorry, Pau, Claire, Donny," Mayor Need had said. "I can't help but worry about Max and the others."

"They'll be all right," Donny said. Pau's eyes widened momentarily: He had believed Donny was asleep. "They're incredibly strong. They got those weights, after all, and that old guy's been fightin' since before all of us were born."

Mayor Need snuggled as best he could into the wall, closing his eyes. He breathed deeply. Claire smiled at Donny, and Donny shrugged.

"It's nothin'."

After three days, the Corsair returned, beaming, and said, "Your friends defeated them. They're gone forever."

Donny bolted onto his feet, his head slamming onto the ceiling. He gripped it, debris falling, and grumbled curses.

"Are Max and the others outside?" Claire said.

Donny raised a finger. "Th-that's what I was gonna ask."

The Corsair nodded twice and then led them through the tunnel. The group flinched, the sun piercing their eyes. They stumbled upright, Mayor Need nearly falling as he placed a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun's rays. Pau and Donny stretched. Claire rubbed her eyes, the five and Muten Roushi focusing in their sights.

She embraced Max, who returned the hug. Pau, Donny, and Mayor Need met them.

Donny placed his hands upon his hips. "Heard you got 'em."

Max glanced at Monica, who shook her head slightly. He clenched a hand into a fist. "Sure did."

"Was it hard?"

"Not really," Yamcha said. "Took less than five minutes."

Donny whistled. "Incredible."

Claire released Max and crossed her arms. "Did it really take that long?"

"All right, so I exaggerated a bit. Six minutes."

Gokuu pointed at the bulge protruding from Donny's hat. "That wasn't there before. What is it?"

Donny touched the bulge, and he winced. "Hit my head." He drew in his breath between gritted teeth. "Hurts like a dog."

After speaking with Pau, Claire, Donny, and Mayor Need for an hour about their adventures in Mount Gundor, omitting the Griffon Soldiers' help, Monica said, "We should head back to Palm Brinks and tell them what happened." She ran a strand of her hair between two fingers. "Besides, two giant condors are staying there."

After saying their goodbyes, they rode Kintoun to Palm Brinks. They hopped off before the sheriff's office, where Patrolmen Addis and Puno stood.

"Haven't seen you all in such a long time," Patrolman Addis said as other citizens joined them, eyes twinkling. "How'd the Red Dragon situation go?"

"Great," Max said. "They were kinda tough, but we got them in the end. They won't be bothering anyone else."

Sounds of astonishment were murmured throughout the crowd that had surrounded the group.

"That's amazing," Patrolman Addis said. "After what you told us…" He shuddered.

"You expected us to lose?" Monica said.

"Of course not." He gestured toward their bodies. "But I didn't think you'd come back so clean. You don't have any scars or anything."

Kuririn grinned. "You can thank Dr. Dell's medicine for that."

"So, where are Cedric and the others?" Max said.

"They're with the condors right now. They mostly stayed in Cedric's shop, and Borneo and Erik worked on the Blackstone One."

"How have the condors been getting on here?"

"It's a tight squeeze, but they've managed to stay in the park. They haven't flown since they were afraid the Red Dragons would see them. But Drini and Calonne have been playing with them every day, climbing on their backs and pretending to fly, things like that." A light blush tinted Patrolman Addis' cheeks. "Lin's been staying with the condors, too, and she's been practicing her magic—water and wind spells mostly, since she doesn't want to burn the park down or electrocute anyone. Ferdinand's made meat large enough to feed the condors and their chicks. He's been working almost day and night while you all were gone."

"I'm sure he's ready for a long rest."

"You know it."

The group reached the condors and Lin, who sat against Barga, turning over her broomstick in her hands. Her eyes lit up. "Max, Monica, Gokuu!" she said while Barga said, "You're back" and the condor screeched, its tongue lapping the air.

Gokuu made a peace sign. "We killed 'em. You guys can head back to Starlight Canyon now."

Gerald placed a hand on Max's shoulder and nodded. Max returned the gesture.

"So, what exactly happened?" Drini said. "What did you guys do to train?"

Monica imagined Drini emulating the five's training. "I don't think we should tell you. You might hurt yourself."

"How'd you figure that out?"

"It's not that hard to."

Drini slumped, pouting at the ground and kicking dust.

The condors took to the skies, their wings causing gusts of wind to whip everyone's hair.

"Thank you so much," Barga said. "Now we can live peacefully in Starlight Canyon."

Lin waved both arms. "You're forgetting about me."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

The condor lowered itself to Lin's level, and she climbed upon its back.

Drini's face lost its pout and returned to its usual brightness. "Before you guys go, can we ride on your backs, too?"

The condor exchanged looks with Barga, whose chicks rested in a nest on her back.

"Why not? We have all the time in the world."

Max and Monica scrambled behind Drini and Calonne, hoisting them, by the legs, onto the condor.

"Care to join us?" Barga said.

The five and Muten Roushi clambered onto the condor. In that moment, all was forgotten. There was no Griffon, Sirus, Dark Element. No world was in danger. Warmth spread throughout their bodies. Flower-shaped clouds drifted across the sky and, with a flap of its wings, the condor and Barga flew toward the sun, further illuminating the group's faces.


	57. The Mountain's Peak

**Chapter Fifty-seven: The Mountain's Peak**

Upon arriving in Heim Rada, Buruma, with the five's help, began to restore the town. Gokuu retrieved supplies from Conda, who refused to leave the Blackstone One, fearful that the falling embers would inflame his beard.

"But they haven't done anything to my hair," Monica had said, "or any of ours, for that matter."

Conda had caressed his beard. "That's because your human hair is tough. Firbits' hair is very delicate."

Once the group finished, Buruma smiled at the former wasteland. Four brick houses, three of which Cedric, Borneo, and Erik lived in, stood beside each other, smoke billowing from their chimneys, and ten pots weaved between them. A windmill towered at the side of Heim Rada, blowing embers into Mount Gundor. An iron fence surrounded the brick house in which Gerald resided. Stone stairs sitting on stone blocks led to an iron house, which Rufio occupied, upon three iron stands. A Great Crane rested atop one brick house, a Power Arm on another. A generator was erect near Mount Gundor's entrance, three bulbous blue lights surrounding it, flames continuously spewing from its chimney.

Kuririn placed his hands on his hips. "Not bad."

"Even though you hardly did anything?" Buruma said.

"Gokuu was doing the work much faster than I could've."

"I didn't need any help," Gokuu said.

She shrugged. "Whatever. Let's just get to Gundorada Workshop and see how it looks."

Max led the group to the time gate, and they traveled to the future. The mechanical noises echoing throughout the workshop reminded him of Luna Lab. Men clad in T-shirts and cargo pants walked about, wrenches in hand. Kuririn's eyes darted to each of them. "Scary-looking guys around here."

Beside the time gate lay a raised platform adorned with a glowing cerulean pattern, to which Max pointed.

"What's that?"

"That's a jump gate," Monica said. "It transports you to different parts of the workshop, since this place is obviously huge."

"We oughta just run everywhere," Gokuu said. "It's good for training." Kuririn and Yamcha nodded.

Buruma crossed her arms. "And get all sweaty? I don't think so."

Identical buildings enclosed the workshop, colored a similar shade of tan to the floor, metal plating around their iron-wrought doors. Holed in the workshop's middle was a fenced-in crater.

Gokuu ran to the middle, placed his hands on the fence, and pushed so that he peered down, feet dangling several inches above the floor. "Whoa. Looks like a long way down."

"You really should get away from there, Son-kun. It wouldn't be good if you fell. I don't think Kintoun can travel to this time."

"Oh, right." Gokuu hopped onto his feet and then returned to the group. "It was really dark down there. I couldn't see a thing." He placed a finger upon his chin. "If I fell, I wonder how long I'd fall until I hit something."

"Probably a few hours," Kuririn said.

"You'd fall to the bottom of the volcano," Monica said. "Needless to say, it's incredibly hot down there. You'd burn up before you even reached the bottom."

He shuddered. "Why don't they plug that hole up so no one falls down?"

"Simply because no one's fallen down there yet. Not a good excuse, I know. Besides, Paznos usually rests in that hole."

Max twisted his neck in all directions to memorize every detail of the workshop. Cranes protruded between some buildings, toward the middle. "I'm guessing that those cranes hold Paznos in place."

"That's right."

"They're pretty big. Paznos must be big, too."

"Yeah. With it, we'll definitely be able to defeat whatever Griffon's using to attack the west. I promise you, whatever Griffon's attacking with isn't as big as Paznos."

"Is there anything we need to do here?" Buruma said.

"Let's look for Garek. He's bald with a single strand of brown hair on top. And he's shirtless. Always."

As the group explored the workshop's first floor, Buruma said, "So, is he allergic to shirts or something?"

"Dunno. A lot of the guys around here don't really like to wear clothing. Then again, this is a volcano."

When they encountered a workshop employee, Monica asked of Garek's location.

"He's on the second floor."

The group thanked him, and they rode the elevator opposite the time gate to the second floor. A shirtless man, a strand of brown hair atop his head, stood near the fence at the edge of the workshop, hands on hips. A patch of spiky hair covered the middle of his chest, beard styled similarly to his chest hair.

"There he is," Monica said.

Kuririn stepped back. "He's huge."

"Muscles don't mean anything, Kuririn," Gokuu said. "It depends on how you use them. But I kinda wanna fight him."

Monica approached him. "Garek's a really nice guy. He is the plant manager, after all."

"Besides, you can fight him later, Son-kon." Buruma followed Monica. "For now, let's ask him…what do we need to ask him, Monica?"

"He should be able to help with the raining embers problem."

The group reached him, Kuririn shaking, and Garek turned toward them. His face brightened, goggles hiding his eyes. "Princess."

Monica raised a hand. "'Monica' will do."

"I'm glad to see you still in one piece. Who're your friends?"

The group introduced themselves to Garek, Kuririn's voice cracking. Buruma giggled, and Kuririn blushed deeply.

"Don't worry about it," Garek said. "When I was your age, my voice cracked all the time."

A small smile appeared on Kuririn's face. "Really?"

"Yeah. It goes away after a while."

Kuririn straightened, face lightening to pink.

Buruma placed a hand on her head. "This is quite a far cry from asking him about the raining embers."

"Raining embers?" Garek said. "We had that problem here a little while ago. Gaspard and his lackeys tried to attack the workshop directly with a machine called a Fire Squall. It rained embers all over the workshop. We blew it up before it could burn the workshop down."

"Then they must've put that machine in the past," Max said, "to keep the workshop from existing in the first place."

"How'd you blow it up?" Buruma said.

From his pocket, Garek withdrew a bomb with an analog clock in its middle. Buruma narrowed her eyes.

"Monica, do these guys always carry bombs in their pants?"

Monica grinned wryly. "Beats me. And it's really not within my authority to check."

"Use this." Garek threw the time bomb into Max's hands, and Max fell on his rear. "Whoops, sorry. Didn't think I'd thrown it that hard."

Max staggered upright. "R-right." He stuffed the bomb into his pouch.

Kuririn gulped. "I really hope that doesn't explode while that's in there."

"It shouldn't be set at all."

"Shouldn't…" Yamcha said. "But is it?"

"Let me check."

Max gave Garek the bomb, and he turned it over in his hands. "It's not set. Don't worry so much, all right?"

Buruma rolled her eyes. "Because worrying about our lives isn't something we should do."

"Make sure they don't see it before it goes off. Good luck, you all."

The group thanked him and then entered the elevator. Garek faced the crater. "Quite the kids."

* * *

Buruma settled inside the Blackstone One along with Oolong and Puar as the five entered Mount Gundor, in which silence pervaded. Kuririn ran stiffly through the floor.

Yamcha raised a brow. "You all right? You're running like a piece of cardboard."

Kuririn shook his head. "This is weird."

No yellow eyes blinked in the darkness of overhangs. No claws scratched at the walls. No growls, no roars, no signs of monsters.

Max eyed Monica, whose eyes were cast downward. "The Gundrons should be around here somewhere."

Monica's eyes lit up, and Max felt a grin spread on his face. "That's right. The Red Dragons said they didn't want to get rid of them."

A circular purple glow entered their views. The Holy Gundron neared the five and then floated alongside them. Before one of the five could ask a question, the Gundron said, "The Holy Gundrons travel on the same plane as the spirits of the dead. The monsters on the other side are, and will forever be, without pain. Although you do not see them, they are all around you, wishing you luck on your journey."

Monica translated and then said, "That's great. I'm glad they're doing better than they were when they were alive."

"Do you see the Red Dragons?" Yamcha said.

"I don't, but you all defeated them, didn't you?"

The five exchanged looks.

He scratched his head. "Actually, they were too strong, so someone else defeated them for us. But if that's the case, then they should all be in the spirit realm or whatever."

"They're not. Where are they?"

"They wouldn't have gone anywhere before they killed us," Max said. "Even if Sirus brought us back to life, the Red Dragons would've killed us again, so Sirus must've killed them." He furrowed his brow in thought. "No, not killed. If they're not in the spirit plane, they must be alive somewhere, but Sirus must've taken them someplace else. But where?"

"Maybe someplace where they can't hurt us or anyone else ever again," Monica said.

"That's good news." The Holy Gundron waved using its tail. "Good luck on the rest of your journey. Get stronger."

Gokuu returned the wave. "For sure."

* * *

The higher the five trekked, the thinner the air became. Their breathing grew shallow and quick, similar to gasping, and their running pace slowed.

Max blinked excessively, tears dripping from his eyes, for the cold wind lashed his face. He panted, cheeks crimson. The others resembled him in facial expression, though Yamcha did his best to hide his discomfort: His face was scrunched, but his mouth attempted to twist into a smile.

Throbbing ailed their legs. The bumpy ground made every step a trial, each step sending a jolt up their legs, their backs, their neck, to their heads, which then pounded as quickly as their hearts. Max gritted his teeth; his head pounded more viciously, and he slackened his jaw.

"We have to take a rest."

At Monica's words, the boys collapsed onto the ground. She placed her hands upon her knees and panted for several seconds. Then, she sunk onto the ground.

"It's real hard to breathe up here," Gokuu said.

"It sure is." Kuririn took a water bottle from Max, uttering his thanks. "I wish there was a way to breathe better. I don't think we'll last very long if Gaspard comes back and starts attacking us." He drank the majority of the water in two gulps, the plastic bottle contracting with each swallow, a crunching noise resounding throughout the mountain.

Monica's eyes grew distant. "I don't think he'll attack us." She glanced at the boy's widened eyes, her eyes sharpening. "I mean, um…"

"You never did tell us what happened that day on the battleship."

"Yeah," Gokuu said. "Why didn't you finish him off?"

Monica sighed. "I didn't think I'd forgive him so quickly, either, but it looks like I have, at least a little. Gaspard was nice to me that day."

"What do you mean?"

She visualized the last portion of their duel. "I think he cares for us somehow, maybe because he's probably been watching us like Sirus has for so long. Even if he was only watching to come up with a plan to outsmart us, he's probably warmed up to us a little. You don't watch someone for such a long time without coming to have some feelings for them, good or bad."

She blushed lightly. "Sorry, I rambled a bit. I hope made sense."

"I got the gist of what you were saying," Max said.

"I think we need the full details to really understand, though," Yamcha said.

"Maybe later. Right now…" She pushed herself onto her feet. "Break time is over. We have to keep going. The more we run, the faster we can get out of here."

Yamcha exhaled and stood alongside the remainder of the boys. After stretching for several minutes, they resumed their run through the mountain.

"I used to keep a diary back in my kingdom. I didn't bring that with me, so I haven't had any chances to get anything out of my system. It's great that you guys actually listen when I start rambling, no matter how much sense I don't make."

"Makes sense to me," Kuririn said. "Besides, we don't have anything to zone out about. Well, probably Griffon, but not really."

She smirked. "Are you saying that if you had something else to think about, you'd think about that instead of listening to me?"

"Of course not, Miss."

She glared and touched the hilt of her sword.

"M-Monica. Monica. Your musings are very interesting to listen to."

She chuckled, lowering her hand. "You have quite the track record of trying to kiss up to people. I'm not sure how legitimate your words are right now."

"They're very legitimate."

For a moment, the only sound was the five's footfalls.

"That didn't sound very legitimate, did it?"

Monica shook her head.

"I really do enjoy listening to you, Monica. As fake as I sounded earlier, I really do."

"Thanks, guys. There aren't many people I can talk to in my kingdom. Mother's pretty understanding, but she always tries to preach to me. I kinda just want to talk without getting advice in return, even though that might be counterproductive in the end. But it feels good to let it all out."

The five continued in silence for an hour. Max's breathing regressed to rasping.

"Do we need to take another break?" Monica said.

"I feel fine." Max's voice was hoarse.

"You don't sound fine."

"I can make it to the Fire Squall. And the faster we destroy it, the faster we can restore Paznos."

Monica's eyes softened. "Right."

The five continued their trek. Their panting and footfalls echoed, their panting above all. Sweat was coated over their bodies.

To prevent themselves from climbing the mountain once more, they traveled through multiple floors. Magma Rocks plugged the geysers leading to each floor so that they did not have to hunt for them.

A Magma Rock carried Monica to another floor. Had Sirus placed the Magma Rocks upon the geysers? Perhaps not; he would have placed the Geostones in easy-to-locate areas as well, unless he wanted them to climb the mountain so that they would be prepared to kill the being residing inside his body.

Before she could finish her thoughts, she reached the opening. The Magma Rock began to fall, and she scrambled on the wall. She caught the edge and hoisted herself onto the surface. She clutched her heart, which hammered against her chest, wiping her brow.

After several hours, the five arrived at the peak of Mount Gundor. Kuririn's legs wobbled, and he slid onto his knees.

"How did the monsters survive up here?" He tugged at the collar of his shirt to bring air to his chest. "I can hardly breathe."

"They were probably used to it." Sweat fell from Monica's face and splattered upon the blackened ground.

Max scrutinized the rusty machine before him, forgetting his tiredness. The fire rising like smoke from a hole atop the machine, slightly smaller than the crater in Gundorada Workshop in width, indicated that it was the Fire Squall. Tubes containing who-knew-what traveled from the ground to the machine. Oil, maybe? He would never know; he was going to destroy it. Windows protruded from the machine's side, reddish-orange glowing within. Perhaps it was possible to go inside.

The structure soared above them, and spikes jutted from its side. Were they to keep intruders away? They were not sufficient to do so. It seemed easy to run to it, set a bomb, and destroy it, like he would.

He withdrew his camera and took a picture of it.

"So, who wants to be the lucky guy to set up the bomb?" Kuririn said.

"I'll do it." Max pulled out the bomb and turned it over in his hands, running his fingers over its metallic body. "It shouldn't take me long to figure it out. You guys stay back just in case it explodes while I'm setting it up."

Kuririn's jaw dropped. "You're willing to take the explosion all by yourself? But what if you, erm, can't take it?"

"I'll set it up." Gokuu stepped beside Max. "I can take that explosion. I'm real tough."

"You don't know just how tough you are until something happens," Monica said, "like that bomb exploding."

"And you're not as smart as Max," Yamcha said. "I have a feeling that you won't be able to figure out how to set it."

Gokuu glared. "Both of you don't know that."

"You don't have to argue. I said I'd do it. Stay here."

"No, I'll go with you," Monica said. "Maybe I'll be able to save you if something goes wrong."

"I have a better chance at saving him," Gokuu said. "I'm faster than you, Monica, so I'll go with him. I'll push Max outta the way if it does explode. We'll be fine."

Before Monica, Kuririn, and Yamcha could protest, Max and Gokuu ran toward the Fire Squall, up the ramp that was colored as dark as the sky, and to the Fire Squall's metallic door, in which was embedded a circular window, a red glow encompassing it.

Max placed the bomb before the door. "Stay back, Gokuu."

"I'm here to save you if it explodes. I can't move."

Max blinked. "All right." He crouched, staring at the bomb for several seconds. Then, his tapped a fist into the palm of his hand. "Ah. So that's what I have to do."

Gokuu's ears perked; clicking noises emanated from the bomb, Max's hands blurring as they moved dexterously.

Some seconds later, his hands stilled. He faced Gokuu. "It's set, so let's head back. Whoa."

Gokuu had raised him into the air and sprinted to Monica, Kuririn, and Yamcha, who watched from the entrance.

Kuririn pointed to a boulder near the crater. "Over there. I'm sure that'll keep us from blowing into pieces with it."

Gokuu turned so that he neared the boulder. Yamcha followed, as did Monica, albeit slower than Gokuu and Yamcha. Kuririn smiled wryly. He grabbed her soft waist and sped, beside Gokuu and Yamcha, behind the boulder. He placed Monica onto her feet.

Monica stared at him, wide-eyed. Her mouth opened and then closed.

Multiple explosions covered the Fire Squall like fireworks, and Monica ducked beneath her arms, the boys copying her gesture. The ground quaked. Despite the boulder shielding them, wind buffeted their bodies. Debris bumped into the boulder and flew past them.

When the wind ceased, the five uncovered their heads and ran to the boulder's side. Chunks of the Fire Squall lay on top of one another so that the machine rose above them like once before. Smoke billowed from the hole that had spewed fire. Parts of the squall remained red-hot. The remainder of it was broken, including the pipes that, upon further thought, most likely contained oxygen. Was the oxygen in the atmosphere not enough to create the fire?

As large as the fire was, probably not.

Max raised his fists and jumped twice. "Oh, yeah. It worked."

"Great job, Max." Kuririn grinned at Gokuu. "Think you could've done that?"

"You never know. It could've been real easy to figure out."

"It was just like setting an alarm clock." Max placed a hand on the back of his head. "Actually, I'm not that great with setting alarm clocks. Every time I set them, they don't go off."

"Good with the Carpenterion, a time bomb, and many other complex machines," Monica said, "except alarm clocks."

"What's an alarm clock?" Gokuu said.

Kuririn motioned toward Gokuu. "My point exactly."

Monica glowered at Kuririn, and he shrank. "Now, what exactly were you doing earlier, wrapping your arms around me like that?"

He gulped. "Saving you, of course, ma'am."

Monica withdrew her Claymore, the blade scraping against the sheath. Kuririn yelped and hopped back.

"I know what you were thinking. You were trying to find an excuse to put your hands on me. I saw you, Kamesennin—geez, _Kamesennin_ of all people—and Oolong ogle me at the beach. But back then, I didn't need to get angry when we were supposed to be relaxing, but I've put my anger off for too long."

Kuririn backed away. "I was trying to help you, Mi—ma'am. At the rate you were going, the explosion would've gotten you."

"Oh, so now I'm slow?"

"No, ma'am, you're very fast. Please don't cut me in half. I'm only fourteen. I have a long life ahead."

She lowered her sword. "Fourteen? I thought you were twelve."

"Getting me confused with Gokuu?"

"You guys are the same height. Actually, you're a bit shorter."

"So people grow at different rates. I could be really tall and handsome three years from now."

A rumbling caused Kuririn to stumble. An engine roared over the volcano's roar, and overhead, a battleship flew.

"Guess who?" Yamcha said.

Max withdrew his weapons. "He must've been waiting for us."

Monica searched the battleship. He stood at the side of the battleship, the black cloak sweeping over his thin body, sharp eyes studying her. "Gokuu, call Kintoun."

Max whipped his head toward Monica, his mouth open. She raised a hand.

"Trust me, Max."

He closed his mouth, tightening his grip on his weapons.

Gokuu called Kintoun. Kintoun arrived beside him, and Monica knelt on it.

On the battleship, Gaspard turned his back to the five, a Griffon Soldier behind him, saying, "Sir, one of them is coming again."

"I know. Fire."

Bullets launched rapidly from two of the battleship's smaller cannons. Kuririn and Yamcha covered their heads and dashed behind the boulder, off which bullets ricocheted.

Monica scoffed. "So much for bravery."

The trio swayed in all directions and jumped on each foot. Bullets grazed their shoulders, the sides of their stomachs.

"What are you two waiting for?" Monica said. "Get behind that boulder."

Max shook his head, teeth gritted as a bullet seared his arm. Monica's fallen body on the battleship flashed in his mind's eye. "I can't."

"I'll have to jump up there again if you have trouble," Gokuu said.

"I defeated him so easily before. There won't be any trouble."

"But Griffon's made them start training, too," Max said.

Monica's eyes widened momentarily. Gaspard had returned to the battleship's edge, a shell upon his back. "That's okay."

"Monica, no."

Kintoun flew toward the battleship, Monica's hand hanging beside her Claymore's hilt.

Kuririn gestured toward himself and Yamcha. "Get over here, you two. You can watch without getting shot."

Max and Gokuu ran behind the boulder, staring at the battleship. They placed their hands on rocks bulging from the boulder and lifted themselves so that they peered over it. They occasionally ducked to dodge bullets.

Kintoun reached the battleship. She hopped off, and it flew into the distance, leaving her and Gaspard alone.

Gaspard's body remained lax, shoulders low. "I'm glad you decided to pay me a visit again, Monica. You're shaping up to be one of my most frequent houseguests."

Monica winced at her name, her sword forgotten inside its sheath. "I didn't come to fight. Not anymore." She released a suppressed breath, body trembling. "I came to apologize."

She bowed.

She included an apology on behalf of her father, her mother, her entire kingdom for every mistreatment to which Gaspard was subjected. His expression remained neutral, lips a thin line.

He had hated Raybrandt, his wife, Monica, and would have hated all Raybrandt's descendants with his entire being. However, Monica proved to be different. She knew when to swallow her pride. She knew how to keep an open mind.

She knew when to apologize to scum like him.

Once Monica finished her apology, she drew in a breath. "Please accept my apology."

Gaspard turned toward the moon, which was shrouded by the clouds. "You already apologized to Jaming, didn't you?"

"His grandson, but he was my only chance."

"I see." He faced her.

Griffon would kill him.

"I accept your apology, Princess. Thank you very much."

Monica's expression brightened several shades, and relief bathed her body. "You're welcome."

"You're the first person to have ever apologized to me."

"I believe it. I, I mean, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"That was enough." He yelled, "Cease fire."

A Griffon Soldier's head poked out of a doorway across the battleship. "Excuse me, sir?"

"You heard me. Cease fire."

The Griffon Soldier stared at Gaspard.

"Hurry."

"Um, the emperor's telling me not to."

Gaspard scowled. "Of course. Feel free to kill them, Monica."

"It's really not necessary."

"All right, then. We'll keep attacking." A smile tugged at his lips, and he turned toward the crater over which the battleship hovered.

Her mouth twisted upward. "Okay. Go ahead and keep attacking." She backed to the battleship's ledge. On the surface, the boys peeked over the boulder. Lines creased Max's face as he concentrated on Monica and Gaspard. He cocked his head when she waved.

"She must be ready to come back. Kintoun!" When Kintoun arrived, he pointed to the battleship. "Monica's on there. Go pick her up."

Kintoun sped beside Monica. She climbed on and then glanced at Gaspard, who watched the crater's unceasing darkness.

_I hope Griffon doesn't do anything to him. Please don't, Sirus._

* * *

Griffon, on his throne, started. "Sirus?"

_I thought you already knew that they figured out your true name. You brought them back, you fool._

_It wasn't entirely my fault. The Terra Fairies did it._

_You requested them to be brought back. You should've let them die._

_The Terra Fairies would've brought them back, anyway. And we can't forget about the Atlamillia._

The waterfall's sound soothed Griffon for several seconds.

_You had better kill them._

Griffon closed his eyes. He was no longer focused on the crystal ball anyhow.

_Your subordinate is betraying you._

…_I know. _Griffon pressed his body against the throne's back. _I know._

* * *

The boys slid their hands off the boulder and dropped to their feet before Monica, who hopped off Kintoun. It returned to the distance.

"What happened?" Kuririn said. "You keep going up there, but you don't kill him. What's going on between you two?"

"I'll explain later. Max, they're going to keep attacking. Call your Ridepod and use the Nova Cannon to take the battleship out."

"But won't the battleship fall down the crater?"

"Let's not argue. Just do it."

"Monica, I'm confused about what's going on too. You said they're going to keep attacking like you set up some sort of plan with Gaspard." He narrowed his eyes. "I won't call the Ridepod until you tell us what's happening."

Monica frowned. "Really?"

"That's right. All of us have a right to know."

"It's none of your business. I'll only tell you when…" Her eyebrows slanted further downward. "It's_ none _of your business."

"Why are you getting so upset?" Yamcha said.

"You weren't like this a little while ago," Gokuu said. "What's different now?"

"Max, you have to call your Ridepod. I don't have time to explain it to you."

Gokuu exchanged looks with Kuririn, who shrugged. "You've been friends with her longer. You should know what's going on."

"But I don't."

"Why not?" Max said.

Monica clenched a hand into a fist. "I'll explain later. Just do it. Please."

Max shook his head.

A bomb quaked the ground, and the five fell. Monica scrambled onto her feet and dove toward Max's pouch. Max pushed himself backward using his feet. She reached toward his pouch, and he grabbed her wrist. She reached toward the pouch with her remaining hand. He unfastened his pouch and swung it behind his back.

Gokuu wrapped his arms around her shins and pulled, tearing her wrist from Max's grip.

"I'll call the Ridepod."

Monica stood, shins entrenched in Gokuu's grip, cheeks flushed. She glared down at Max, panting.

He withdrew the Help Receiver and called the Ridepod. He told the Ridepod of their location and explained that it might not be possible to arrive at the peak on Magma Rocks. It told him that it would ask Cedric to equip a propeller so it could fly to the peak. Max said he understood and deposited the Help Receiver.

Monica relaxed slightly. "I'm sorry, Max. That was completely uncalled for. I'll tell you what happened as soon as this whole thing's over."

Max nodded.

The five sat against the boulder in silence, awaiting the Ridepod. Bullets bouncing off the boulder and the battleship shooting provided background noise. Periodically, a bomb caused the ground to tremor, and the five shook alongside it, Monica nearly falling onto Max twice.

The Ridepod hovered over the hill and to the five, legs replaced with a spinning propeller, arms replaced with the Nova Cannon.

"Hey, all. What's happening? Nothing much, looks like. Geez, you all look so gloomy."

Monica averted her gaze. "Yeah. It was an accident."

"Hm. Well, you don't have to tell me. It's none of my business."

She twitched.

"So, what's the trouble? How rocky the ground it? This out-of-place boulder? How thin the air is up here? Or the giant shooting battleship?"

Max smiled. "The fourth one. We need you to bring the battleship down."

"All right. You all stay back here. Wouldn't want you guys getting hurt." It darted away from the boulder, shooting golden beams thrice the size of the Steal Gun's beams from its Nova Cannon.

Yamcha ran a hand through his hair. "He doesn't shut up."

"That's Steve," Max said.

The five winced; an explosion had rocked the land.

"Everything's clear, guys. The battleship's down."

The five ran from behind the boulder. A thin arm from the creaking battleship teetered against the ground, the battleship tilted toward the crater.

Monica walked ahead of the boys, avoiding their gazes. "Um, I'm gonna go see if everything's all right." She stared ahead as she ran toward the ground's edge and then leaped. She landed on one knee.

Gaspard's smirk did not waver. "Welcome back. You've stopped my battleship—rather quickly, too. You haven't come to finish me off, have you?"

"I just wanted to make sure that Griffon wasn't going to kill you. Besides, this battleship won't last much longer up here. If you return to my time, I'll make everything up to you."

His smirk evened into a smile. "Your father never broke his word, either."

"That's good to hear." She spread her arms to her sides. "Why don't you join myself, Max, Gokuu, all of us on our journey? We could protect you from Griffon until we straighten everything out with him."

The battleship's arm slipped farther off the ground, and the battleship slid several inches toward the crater. Monica fell onto her side and rolled. Gaspard ground his feet, which lost their grip on the floor. He fell, his sword's sheath screeching across the deck. His back slammed into the railing, Monica beside him.

Max balled his hands. "Not again. Kintoun!"

"It'll only come if I call it. Kintoun!"

When Kintoun came, Max jumped on, indicating the battleship. "Go, Kintoun. Hurry."

Kintoun sped toward the battleship, which neared the crater with the passing seconds. It lingered beside Monica.

The Griffon Soldier's head banged against the railing, and he flipped over, toward the crater. Monica took one hand off the railing to swipe repeatedly for his hand. The Soldier reached, his fingers brushing against hers. Then, his pinky wrapped around her index finger. The ligament cracked, and the grip disappeared.

Monica paled. "No."

The Soldier fell, hollering, the darkness engulfing him. She bit her lip. Her surroundings dissolved so that she saw solely the falling Soldier.

"Monica, I'm right here."

Monica's head swiveled toward Max, who hovered above her. "Save Gaspard first."

Gaspard's smirk was no longer upon his face. "Don't play around, Princess. You're much more important than I'll ever be. Everyone in your kingdom hates me, and your forgiveness won't change that."

"I don't hate you."

His eyes widened further. "What?"

"If my father, my mother, myself, my kingdom hadn't been so afraid, what had happened to you never would've happened, not to you, not to Dr. Jaming, not to anyone."

"You don't hate me."

She smiled. "Yes."

Gaspard searched Monica's face for a sign that she lied. Her breathing was deep and constant, and she looked into his eyes.

There were none.

Flames burst over the other side of the battleship and licked its hull. The villagers chased him and his mother out of the village. He squeezed the railing.

"Gaspard?"

He moved his eyes to look at her.

"Will you come with us?"

Gaspard had desired vengeance upon humans, especially the villagers, and he had killed countless numbers of people who had been important to the kingdom and to others, similarly to how his mother had been important to him. He had taken those people away, causing others well-deserved grief, hopefully the same grief that had been thrust upon him. Despite his blackened heart, Monica offered her friendship.

Friendship.

He had never had friends.

A friend he could talk to in the midnight hour about his emotions, his problems, his fears... He had forced himself to keep his emotions suppressed during his assassinations; calmness was necessary at all times. His emotions would leak into his sleep, giving him nightmares about his mother dying, the villagers killing another boy's mother, and anger had enveloped his being. He had not had a peaceful night since his mother's last day on Terra.

With friends, he could share everything. The restful nights would return, and he would not have to exact revenge any longer.

"You'll fall into the crater soon."

Mount Gundor, his battleship, Monica, Max, and the crater returned. The flames had eaten a quarter of the battleship and lapped near them.

Max outstretched an arm. "Grab on, Gaspard. But don't climb on Kintoun. You might fall through."

Gaspard took Max's hand. The boy's warmth spread to his body, broadening his smile.

Max then pulled Monica onto Kintoun, which flew to the surface. Max, Monica, and Gaspard stood, Kintoun disappearing into the sky.

Gaspard examined each of the five and the Ridepod. He paused when his eyes reached Max. "Thank you for saving me."

Max's body remained rigid. "It was no problem."

"It's all right, Max," Monica said. "Gaspard's all right."

He curled his lips inward. "But…"

"I won't hurt your mother." Gaspard's eyes remained unrelenting. "Griffon might, however. We have to continue through Mount Gundor and gather the Geostones as quickly as possible."

Max's shoulders slumped.

"So, he's joining us," Kuririn said.

"Yeah," Monica said. "He'll be a great help. Also, we ought to protect him from Sirus, just in case he's mad about his betrayal."

"I guess," Yamcha said.

"Since I'm causing problems, I'll leave."

"No," Monica and Yamcha said in unison. Max, Gokuu, and Kuririn cast furrowed brows.

"I don't want that thing inside Sirus to kill you."

"And I don't want you hurting anyone else," Yamcha said. Max, Gokuu, and Kuririn nodded.

A smirk flickered on Gaspard's face. "Then I have no choice. It's fine, though. I'm willing to help."

Monica's eyes softened, Yamcha's expression hardening. Kuririn quaked, and he resisted the urge to place a hand upon his shell's strap. Gokuu inspected Gaspard for any signs of aggression—a hand near the hilt, hands clenched into fists, hand nearing his shell's straps. Max's knuckles whitened against his weapons' dark hilts.

Gaspard pointed to a path that curved downward across from the Fire Squall. "That path leads to Mount Gundor's mouth, and there might be Geostones down there. It'll become very hot, so we have to be careful."

"Gaspard's right," Monica said, and Yamcha's facial expression twitched into a glower. "The monsters are much fiercer as well. At least in my—our time." She gestured toward Gaspard, Yamcha grimacing, Max shifting from side to side. "Let's take some of Dr. Dell's medicine and then head out."

Monica led the group toward Mount Gundor's entrance, the boys keeping Gaspard in their lines of sight. Behind them, the battleship slipped off the mountain's surface and vanished in the crater's darkness.


	58. Allies

**Chapter Fifty-eight: Allies**

The Ridepod swiveled ahead of the six. "Want me to take you back to Heim Rada? It'd save a lot of time."

The six remained silent. If Gaspard attacked, the Ridepod would be able to obliterate him in seconds.

Kuririn would want to put his hands on Gaspard himself.

"I think we're fine," Max said. Had he had the same thoughts as Kuririn?

Monica smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"I'll see you, then." The Ridepod whizzed down the hill leading to Mount Gundor's entrance.

During the several hours the six trekked down the mountain, Monica explained to Gaspard their plans once within Sirus' palace. She also described her, Max's, and Gokuu's encounters with Sirus and the doubt he had harbored. Yamcha glowered at the sky, the walls, the ground, and Max ran rigidly as she spoke, weapons slightly raised.

"I had suspected as such." Gaspard had run ahead of the five, Monica beside him, the boys inches behind. "When he attacked Palm Brinks, he seemed as though he was doing it halfheartedly." A smirk flashed on his face, which Monica ignored. "He didn't have the heart to kill you himself."

When they returned to Heim Rada, legs aching and faces pink, Gaspard said, "You've done a great job restoring Heim Rada so far."

Monica gestured toward Buruma, who, along with Oolong, Puar, and Muten Roushi, sat on pots and stared, wide-eyed, at Gaspard. "You can thank her. She's been doing most of the work for us. Her name is Buruma."

"I have a feeling that if I try to speak to them, they'll run away. Or, in the case of the older man, attack."

Muten Roushi loosened his grip on his cane and nudged his sunglasses nearer to his eyes.

"I'll tell them what's going on." Monica ran to them, their eyes transfixed upon Gaspard.

"What are you doing with him?" Buruma said.

"Don't worry. Gaspard's going to help us."

She shook her head. "Not by the way Yamcha and the others look."

Monica's eyes flickered to the ground. "Well, they haven't gotten used to him themselves first. Once they do, they'll be fine."

She crossed her arms. "Just because they'll get used to him doesn't mean those feelings will disappear."

Monica's brows slanted downward. "That's not true. I know he's not a bad person, but the others may not yet. He just has to prove to them that he isn't."

"That's not getting used to him."

Monica scowled. "I would've killed him myself if he was a bad person."

"Whatever you say."

Her cheeks flushed.

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

Monica's expression was replaced with downward-cast eyes as she turned her attention to Muten Roushi. "A lot of things happened in my kingdom that you don't know about. I think it's time for an explanation."

Muten Roushi raised a hand. "That's okay. I think we've figured it out ourselves."

Oolong and Puar nodded. Buruma had returned her gaze to Gaspard. Gaspard forced a smile upon his face, but she scooted backward, closer to Muten Roushi.

Monica turned toward the remainder of the six. "Since the Fire Squall's been destroyed, I'm sure the future's changed. We're gonna go check it out. Except Gaspard, of course. He'll stay here."

Puar tensed.

Oolong slipped his hands into his pockets. "Kamesennin's here."

Monica narrowed her eyes. "Yes. He is." She joined the group waiting near Mount Gundor. The boys had stood behind Gaspard throughout her explanation to Muten Roushi and the others.

"Let's head to the future. Gaspard, you should stay here. I don't think the people in the future would be very happy to see you." She motioned toward Muten Roushi and the others. "Why don't you get to know them? I'm sure they'd be glad to get to know you."

"Doesn't look like they would to me."

Monica glared at Yamcha, who returned her glare.

"I'd rather spend time near the hot springs instead."

Her eyebrows arched upward. "Oh. Okay."

"Let's go. There's no time to lose." Max continued to stand in place.

Gaspard scoffed. "I understand." He disappeared behind the path leading to the hot springs. The boys watched the path for signs of his return.

"He won't do anything, you guys."

"Right. Everything should be fine." Kuririn turned toward the time gate. "Muten Roushi-sama's here, after all."

Monica gritted her teeth. She ran toward the time gate, the boys following.

* * *

The boys had relaxed considerably when they arrived in Gundorada Workshop: Their shoulders had lowered, yet a dull throbbing ailed Max's forehead. A third floor had been added and, upon it, stood a building resembling the others. However, the top of the building widened so that prongs held an oval, neon-green light. A tube protruded from its side and curved above the light. At the tube's tip pointed a neon-yellow cone.

"That's the operations room," Monica said. "It's where every machine in the workshop can be controlled, overrode, anything. Paznos itself can be controlled in that room. Galen Agaris goes there pretty frequently."

Max clenched his hands. "So, we'll finally meet this Galen Agaris."

"I know you want to, Max, but don't ask him about your mother."

"Why not?"

"He's a very busy man. He'll probably be less likely to let you spend time with her if you come off as whiny to him."

"That doesn't sound whiny to me," Yamcha said.

Monica shrugged. "That's the reality of it. Sorry, Max. Maybe later."

Max exhaled. "All right."

The five rode the elevator to the third floor and entered the operations room. To Max, the room was not as technically advanced as Luna Lab, despite computers, blue glows shining from their screens, lining nearly its entirety. Fans extended from and spun in unison with circular structures near the ceiling, upon which several lights shone spotlights on the aisles, including a man standing in the middle of the room. His gray hair was tied into a ponytail that fell near the middle of his back, arms tucked inside a red overcoat reaching his ankles.

"That's him," Monica said.

Galen Agaris eyed them. A saxophone-like instrument was clutched in his right hand. "Who are you?"

Max bowed. "I'm Maximilian. Nice to meet you."

"Maximilian…" Galen Agaris examined each of the five. His eyes settled on Monica. "Princess Monica, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me."

"It's good to see that even royalty is getting involved. Teaches the people that anyone can help." He faced them. "I see you've brought friends."

"Yes. Max is one of them."

The remainder of the boys introduced themselves.

Galen Agaris stared at Max, who resisted the urge to step back and ask why.

"You must be Elena's son." His eyes softened. "You have your mother's eyes."

Max blushed lightly. "That's nice to hear."

"I'm Galen Agaris. I've been leading the rebels against Griffon, but it seems as though my own origin point has been erased somehow."

"The Fire Squall in the past must've erased you, sir." Kuririn placed a finger upon his chin."But I don't understand how a Fire Squall and a person are connected."

"It must've kept the third floor of the workshop from existing in the first place," Monica said. "After all, this floor is close to Mount Gundor's peak, and Gaspard put the Squall on the peak in the past."

"Did you defeat him?" Galen Agaris said.

She balled her hands into fists. "No. He got away before I could jump on his battleship. We think he's still prowling around in Mount Gundor. We're gathering Geostones from there and rebuilding Heim Rada so Paznos'll be restored. That way, we'll be able to fight against Griffon and save Elena and the west."

"He might be trying to prevent you from gathering the Geostones." Galen Agaris turned around and walked toward the window encompassing the width of the room. He stopped near the ramp leading to the computers, before which the window was embedded. "Be careful. He killed my friend, Raybrandt, one of the mightiest of knights, as Monica can attest to. You mustn't underestimate him."

She placed a hand on her Claymore's hilt. "We won't. I'll definitely kill him and get justice for both my father and the Great Sage."

Yamcha raised a brow. Kuririn wiped his face using his hand, suppressing a sigh.

"Geostones might also be in the bottom of Mount Gundor, its mouth. To get them, you'll have to use this." Galen Agaris placed the instrument before his body. "Take it."

Max took the instrument and slid his hand over its warm, metallic, bronze body, pressing the keys near the mouthpiece at its tip. He had never seen or played an instrument, not counting the Trumpet Gun Gokuu had blown in his ears, other than the piano in his house, which he never took an interest in, save the times when Elena would play near his bedtime. He would sit beside her and watch her arch her fingers to tap the keys, amazed at how she never made mistakes. He oftentimes fell asleep on her shoulder before she finished the song. After her departure, Max had buried himself in machines, afraid that touching the piano would erase his mother's scent from it.

"The bottom of Mount Gundor contains a flowing river of lava," Galen Agaris said. "You may be unable to explore the mouth for Geostones if you can't pass it. Therefore, you need that, the legendary instrument, Fire Horn. Use it when flames block your path. They will become your servants and part for you, enabling you to cross the lava."

"Thank you," Max said. "We'll do our best."

"Hurry. Griffon's forces are closing in on the workshop as well."

Max stifled a question and led the group toward the entrance. Galen Agaris turned toward the window showing outcrops of rocks in the distance.

* * *

"You did well, Max," Monica said as she and the boys ran down the operations room's ramp.

"I'll think of a way myself."

"Guess there's not stopping you." She frowned at Kuririn, who stared at her. "What?"

"I don't feel right about Gaspard."

"What's new?" Yamcha said.

She looked forward. "Thought that was a perverted stare."

Kuririn scratched his head. "I can be pretty deep too, y'know. There's more to me than my…thinking with other parts of my anatomy. Besides, you've been really reckless lately. You're usually the most careful person out of all of us."

"Kuririn's right," Gokuu said. "You've been really confusing lately."

"Girls are very hard to figure out," Yamcha said. "You guys haven't gotten any girlfriends yet. Wait until you do."

Monica placed her hands upon her hips. "Uh, what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes. "I can see why Buruma broke up with you."

Kuririn bowed his head to hide a snicker as Yamcha's jaw slackened, eyes becoming distant.

"Seriously, what's been going on with you?" Gokuu said.

"I already told you." She and the boys stepped inside the elevator, which moved down. "It's my fault for Gaspard's joining Griffon."

The elevator arrived on the first floor, and the five ran toward the time gate.

Yamcha smacked his cheek, sharpening his eyes into focus. "Shouldn't you be more cautious? Letting him join us, well, he might be a ticking time bomb."

"No, he isn't."

"You hardly know him yourself."

"I know him more than you do."

"But you don't know him enough to have him join us that quickly."

"How do you know?"

Yamcha stopped, as did the remainder of the boys. "Because he killed your father, Monica."

"He wouldn't have done that if—"

"All right." Yamcha ran past her. "He's with us for protection from Griffon. Once we save Sirus from that thing, you'll waste your life kissing up to Gaspard, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Monica's face reddened. "That's not true."

"So you say, princess."

Monica ran after him, Max, Kuririn, and Gokuu following.

Max quickened his pace so that he ran alongside her. "Monica, calm down. It's not worth getting upset over."

She slowed. "Right. Not worth getting upset over someone like him."

"Not worth getting upset over someone like Gaspard," Yamcha said.

"Guys, stop," Gokuu said. "As long as we keep Gaspard in our sight, we'll be fine. He wouldn't fight all of us. We'd beat him real quick."

Yamcha cracked his knuckles. "That's for sure."

* * *

Upon returning to the past, Monica ran to the hot springs, the boys on her heels. Gaspard sat on the ledge surrounding the springs.

"Thought you were actually going in the hot springs."

Gaspard continued to stare at his reflection in his sword's blade. "I'd rather keep my armor on. How did things go?"

"The future's fine so far." She explained their conversation with Galen Agaris and their obtaining the Fire Horn, which Max had deposited in his pouch.

"Are you all prepared to go in Mount Gundor now?"

"We still need to get Dr. Dell's medicine." Max turned toward Heim Rada's stop; Muten Roushi was near them. "I'll go get some." He left the hot springs.

The boys, Gaspard, and Monica remained in silence for several moments. Gaspard sheathed his sword. "Still feeling uncomfortable around me?"

"Yes, sir," Kuririn said. Monica looked at him sharply. He shrugged. "Just telling the truth, ma'am."

A smile touched Gaspard's face. "As expected."

"We'll be able to get through Mount Gundor much faster thanks to you," Monica said.

"We will?" Gokuu said.

"Of course, Gokuu."

"That doesn't sound right to me. If anything, we'd be slowed down."

Gaspard stood, and Kuririn twitched into a battle stance.

"It'll take some time for them to get warmed up to you, Gaspard," Monica said.

Yamcha flexed his muscles. "Quite some time."

"We really don't need comments like that."

"Yes, _Miss."_

Monica opened her mouth. Max returned, carrying several jars of medicine and six pairs of blue, spiky shoes in his arms. He stuffed the medicine in his pouch. He then crouched, allowing the shoes to roll onto the ground. "Dr. Dell had Dragon Shoes, too. He said that our shoes won't be able to hold up on Mount Gundor's hot floor. I think I got everyone's right size."

"I'm impressed, Max," Gaspard said as he and the remainder of the six replaced their shoes with Dragon Shoes. "You were able to get all our correct sizes just by looking at our feet. I'm surprised you were even compelled to look at our feet in the first place."

Max's shoulders remained high. "Yeah."

"They feel a bit more sluggish—" Yamcha glanced at Gaspard—"but we should be fine."

"Time to head out." Monica led the group toward Mount Gundor. Gaspard ran alongside her. Behind them, Max withdrew his weapons.

* * *

After several hours, the six reached the peak. Monica and Gaspard veered to the right, and the boys followed.

"Like Gaspard said before," Monica said, Yamcha wincing at Gaspard's name, "over here should be a path leading toward the mouth. Max, you brought plenty of water, right?"

Max rummaged in his pouch, feeling the bottles' coldness. "Sure did."

"Good. Anytime any of you need to take a break, just say so. This heat shouldn't be underestimated."

The six ran down the winding path. Kuririn slipped and quickly regained his balance. He chuckled, cheeks pinking. "Steep."

They entered a cavern, within which a red light shone.

Yamcha cringed. "Aw, man, I can feel the heat already. And it does not feel pleasant."

The path curled downward. The ground grew rockier, and the heat intensified. Max wheezed, sweat enveloping his body. Gokuu, Kuririn and Yamcha gritted their teeth. Monica and Gaspard blinked; their eyes watered. The six occasionally drank from the water bottles.

"Drink as many as you need." Max panted for some seconds. "I have plenty."

"We'll take breaks between floors," Monica said. "It wouldn't be good if we fainted down here. The ground is very hot. It'd burn our skin plain off."

Kuririn's eyes widened. "You're not giving me very nice mental images."

"Sorry. There's no nicer way to put it."

"We should stay down here until we gather all the Geostones," Gaspard said. "It'd be counterproductive for us to return to Heim Rada every time we completed a floor."

"I agree."

"Obviously," Yamcha said.

"Maybe I should slice your gold tongue off and keep it for myself."

He raised his hands. "But I agree, too."

Max, Gokuu, and Kuririn replied in the affirmative.

Monica released a breath. "Since the monsters are able to live in these wonderful conditions, expect them to be very strong. Very."

Lava lined the sides of the bumpy ground, and the lava and heat dyed the walls red. The sky was not visible. From the crimson glow ahead, a Lava Bat entered their views.

"Strong, huh?" Yamcha said.

"The other monsters."

"Okay. I'll take care of him quickly." He leaped, plucked it from the air, and tossed it into the wall. It plopped into the lava, which bubbled.

He ran back to the six, smiling wryly. "No trouble at all."

The Lava Bat emerged, lava dripping from its wings and splattering upon the ground.

"They're called Lava Bats for a reason," Monica said.

"How was I supposed to know they were called Lava Bats?"

The Lava Bat swooped toward Yamcha, screeching, fangs visible. It tore at Yamcha's stomach. He leaped backward and toppled into Gokuu.

Gokuu flailed. "It burns."

Yamcha rolled onto his feet. He crossed his arms before his face, and the Lava Bat bit at his forearms. Gokuu jumped upright, smoke rising from his clothing, through which a hole burned.

Gaspard swung his sword downward, halving the Lava Bat's head. Its halves fell to the ground and disintegrated.

Yamcha straightened. "Hey, thanks."

Gaspard nodded. His eyes momentarily no longer seemed as sharp as his blade.

"We were thinking that if we helped the monsters," Monica said, "we wouldn't have to kill them."

A smirk flashed upon Gaspard's features once more. "Unfortunately, princess, that's unrealistic. We won't be able to help every monster."

"I know, but we can at least try."

"If they keep attacking us after we offer to help, we'll have no choice but to kill them." He ran forward. "Let's continue. That boy—Max needs to save his _mother_, after all."

Max's brow furrowed, and Gokuu cocked his head.

The six continued, Max staying nearer to Gaspard than previously. They encountered more Lava Bats, which refused to be helped by humans and, thus, were promptly killed.

"Even though the Red Dragons are gone," Kuririn said, "they're still attacking us."

"I guess the Red Dragons really got to them," Monica said.

"Maybe we could try and prove ourselves again like we did in Veniccio."

"How?"

"Dunno. I was hoping that one of you guys would have an idea."

The six were silent for several seconds.

"Um, Gaspard, sir, erm, you used to be… Monica said, um… Do you have any ideas?"

Gaspard eyed Kuririn, who flinched. "I know what you're trying to say. I would want them to be kind to me. However, the monsters attack us first, so it seems that wouldn't work."

"Maybe they have their own problems," Monica said. "They might not be able to get along with each other or something. We could try to fix that."

Kuririn slammed a fist into his palm. "That's a pretty good idea. Let's watch the monsters and see if they need any help."

The six peered around a corner. A Chimera, wings spread so that they nearly enveloped the clearing, and a Lava Golem, glowing scarlet as a result of the lava housed in its body, stood across from each other. In the middle floated an Alexander, which carried a red-bladed sword and a coil of rope.

Monica shuddered. "That bird monster is not bringing back very nice memories."

Gokuu pointed to the Alexander. "That monster has a really big head."

"A big head and no eyes," Kuririn said.

"What we need to do is keep the humans from getting from one floor to the next." The Chimera stepped forward, quaking the ground. "Give me the rope."

The Lava Golem vaulted over the Alexander, landing between it and the Chimera. "No, don't give her the rope. My brethren in Starlight Canyon have told me that humans are good and just. They stopped the Dragons' reign there."

"To further their own filthy goals." The Chimera spat sideways. The spit landed in the lava, causing it to sizzle. "They wanted to gain their trust so the monsters wouldn't attack them, and if the monsters didn't attack them, they could run through Starlight Canyon faster."

"So?"

"Whaddaya mean, 'So?'"

"What's so bad about that? Everyone has goals in life." It pounded a fist on its chest. "Mine is to learn how to talk to people better."

The Chimera stomped in place repeatedly. "We don't know if their goals are beneficial to the monsters or not."

"They're good. The humans wouldn't have bothered saving us in the first place if they weren't, not to mention talk to us and try to be friends."

The Chimera glared at the Alexander peeking over the Lava Golem's leg. "Give me the rope."

The Alexander ducked behind the Lava Golem. The Chimera took to the air and then swept toward it. The Lava Golem punched. The Chimera swung its body sideways, snatching the rope from the Alexander using its talons and carving gashes into the Alexander's face. It fell, sword and shield slipping from its grip.

The Lava Golem picked up the Alexander and its weapons. "You…!"

"That's our cue." Monica bounded from the wall and charged toward the Chimera. The remainder of the six followed.

The Chimera and Lava Golem whirled around to face them. The Chimera sneered, and the Lava Golem grinned.

"Like I'm letting you get this." It paused. "On second thought…" Using its fangs, it tore the rope in half, then in quarters, then in miniscule pieces. The rope's remains littered the ground.

Monica paled. "That was our only way to get from one floor to the next."

The color drained from Kuririn's and Yamcha's skin.

"Now you're trapped here." The Chimera leaped toward the six, flapping its wings. It landed before them. The six's charge ceased, and they stumbled alongside the ground.

The Chimera swiped toward Monica. Gaspard stepped before her and crossed his sword before his body. Its talons scraped against the sword, sparks showering, and the Chimera staggered backward.

"Thanks, Gaspard. Sorry about that."

"Don't apologize. Teammates are supposed to protect."

Kuririn jumped toward the Chimera's back, and the Chimera swatted him across the clearing. The Lava Golem placed its foot to its left. Kuririn crumpled against it and then slumped to the ground. He hollered and bounced onto his feet, smoke billowing from his behind.

"Bo, extend!"

The Nyoi-bo pierced through the Chimera's outstretched wing. The Chimera faced Gokuu, roaring. As it did so, Max smashed its talons. The Chimera shrieked and kicked. The talon stabbed Max's chest, and he bowled into Yamcha, who clutched his shoulders and ended his flight.

Max grinded his teeth. "I'm fine."

"You sure? That wound doesn't look very fine to me."

Blood dampened his overalls, which clung to his body.

"Positive. If I can't defeat this monster, then I can't defeat Griffon—that thing. That means he'll have plenty more opportunities to hurt my mother."

Yamcha sighed. "All right." He dropped Max onto his feet, and Max dashed around the Chimera, to its back, as Gokuu ripped his Nyoi-bo out of its wing. The Chimera stumbled toward Max. Max jogged backward, talons inches from him, and slammed his hammer onto its leg. The Chimera began to fall backward, shadow enveloping him. Max quickened his pace into a sprint, yet the Chimera fell on his right leg. He howled, the Chimera's screech drowning his wail. He drove his hammer into the Chimera's stomach repeatedly; the Chimera did not move.

Gaspard, who slashed the Chimera beside Monica said, "That boy—Max is in trouble."

"What?" Monica's head whipped toward Max. She gasped. "His leg."

Max shut his eyes. "The floor…!" His leg's scalding increased with the passing seconds. The heat seared his left thigh and backside, albeit not as severely as his right leg.

Monica and Gaspard rushed to Max. Gaspard lifted Max by the underarms, Max's back inches from the ground.

"That's much better."

"But your leg is still…"

Gokuu's ears perked, and he turned his attention to Max, whom Gaspard raised from the ground. Kuririn and Yamcha looked in the same direction.

"Max's in trouble," Gokuu said. "We gotta help him."

Max opened his watering eyes and swung his hammer into the Chimera. The Chimera remained still.

Gokuu disappeared and reappeared above the Chimera's head, upon which he landed. He lowered his head to grin in the Chimera's eyes. "Stop hurting Max."

"Foolish little human." The Chimera sniffed. "No, not human. Something else, but I can't quite put my wing on it."

Gokuu screwed his feet into each of the Chimera's eyes. The Chimera shuffled backward, stepping on Max.

Gaspard shifted Max toward Monica. "Please take him for a moment."

Monica placed her hands around Max's shoulders to lift him, and Gaspard ran behind the Chimera, slicing. The Chimera reeled forward, releasing its foot from Max's leg.

Gaspard returned to Max, whose leg was bloodied and swollen from gashes and burns lining it. His leg was twisted so that it jutted sideways, toward the wall.

"It's broken."

"I have Dr. Dell's medicine." Max withdrew the jar containing white gel, scooped out a handful, and rubbed it over his legs. A white light shimmered around the gashes and burns and, after several seconds, the light faded. The gashes and burns had disappeared. The swelling receded, leg contracting to its normal size. However, it remained twisted and continued to throb.

"Looks like it can't heal broken bones," Monica said. "We'll have to get you to Dr. Dell."

* * *

Yamcha glimpsed Max, Monica, and Gaspard from over the Chimera's body. "Monica and Gaspard are gonna protect Max. We'll have to fight this giant bird ourselves."

The Chimera lifted its talon above Max, Monica and Gaspard. Gaspard jumped to the talon's side and slashed. His blade clashed against the Chimera's leg. Gaspard and the Chimera pushed. The Chimera thrust Gaspard to the ground and then hovered its talon over him.

Kuririn appeared underneath the talon and grabbed its claws. The Chimera curled its talon, digging its claws into his back. Kuririn grunted and shoved. The Chimera sniggered.

Gokuu jumped on top of the Chimera, grabbed its horns, and thrust, pulling its head backward so that it stared at Mount Gundor's opening.

The Chimera slapped Gokuu's head using its wing, and Gokuu fell on his stomach. Gokuu attempted to stand, but the Chimera slammed its wing on him repeatedly, forcing him to remain smothered in its fur.

Yamcha leaped onto the Chimera's back and grabbed a wing that lingered inches from Gokuu. He stepped backward, pulling the wing. Gokuu stood and stepped backward, pulling its head.

The Chimera relaxed its talon, and Kuririn exhaled. He stepped forward, pushing the Chimera backward.

Gaspard stood before Max and Monica, narrowing his eyes at the martial artists. _They're upstaging me._

Yamcha raised the wing above the Chimera's head and Gokuu. "You all right with this, Gokuu?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go ahead."

Yamcha released the wing, and the wing smacked the Chimera's head and Gokuu, who shut his eyes and forced himself to remain conscious—Gaspard stood beneath. Haze enveloped the Chimera's eyes. Kuririn released its talon, and it lurched toward the Lava Golem. The Lava Golem punched the Chimera's back, and it leaned forward, toward Max, Monica, and Gaspard.

"You've gotta be kidding." Monica gripped Max's arm.

Gaspard shoved Monica sideways, and she skidded several feet away. He slung Max over his shoulders and ran before Monica. The Chimera crashed facedown and disintegrated.

Monica stood, wincing at the ache afflicting her side. "Thanks, Gaspard. You were a huge help."

"Like I said, that's what teammates are supposed to do." He frowned. "I'm sorry I had to push you. Did I hurt you any?" Before Monica could respond, his brows slanted downward at her side. "It seems I have."

"Use this." Max withdrew the medicine from his pouch. Monica took it and rubbed it upon her burn.

"See?" Monica gave Max the medicine. "That's all I had to do. No big deal."

"If your lovefest is over," Yamcha said, "let's have a look at Max."

Monica bit her tongue and directed her attention to Max's leg.

Max grinned. "It's nothing Dr. Dell can't handle."

"It'd probably be best if you rode Kintoun back to Heim Rada. Gokuu?"

"Okay." Gokuu called Kintoun, which arrived beside him. "Should one of us go with him?"

"Kintoun should be able to keep me away from monsters. Keep going. I should be all right in a few days."

Gaspard placed Max onto the cloud. His gaze hesitated over Gaspard, and Kintoun flew over the wall. Gokuu and Kuririn waved after it, yet Max saw solely Gaspard and Monica.

The five faced the Lava Golem, the Alexander floating before it. Monica transformed into a Himarra. The ground blackened her roots, and smoke rose from them. She de-transformed.

She wiped sweat from her brow. "I almost went up in flames." She knelt, cheeks puffing as she blew smoke from her ankles.

"Thanks for your help," the Lava Golem said. "I told that Chimera that humans are good."

"We know," Gaspard said. "It was no problem."

"You can talk to monsters, Gaspard?" Monica said.

"Of course. I'm not completely human myself."

She averted her gaze. "Oh. Right."

"Obviously, it was a problem," the Alexander said. "That human broke his leg. Hopefully, he gets better soon."

"We should be okay without Max, though." Kuririn glanced at the glares from Monica and Gokuu. "Sorry for the insensitive comment, but we should, especially with Gaspard."

Monica smiled, as did Gaspard.

"We would help you, but the monsters have many different opinions on what they think we should do with humans…fight them, capture them, eat them, whatever you can think of. Even if I went with you and told them what you did, they wouldn't believe me."

"Nor I," the Alexander said. "Even though I never lie."

"If you never lie," Gokuu said, "how come they don't believe you?"

"Monsters are stubborn. You should've learned that by now. They find a way to twist facts to support their beliefs."

"That's stupid," Kuririn said.

The Lava Golem placed a hand upon the back of its head. "Not much we can do about that."

"How are we gonna get to the next floor with no rope? The walls are too hot to scale down."

"Kintoun." Monica pointed to Kuririn and Yamcha. "You two are gonna have to hold on. Gaspard might, too." She blinked. "Kuririn, Yamcha, you two seem pretty pure to me. Why can't you get on?"

Yamcha smiled faintly. "You don't wanna know."

"I don't think I want to now."

Kuririn whispered to Yamcha, "You're taking away my points I've scored with her."

"What points?"

Monica placed her hands on her hips. "You know I can hear you, right?"

"W-w-w-well, let's keep going." Kuririn rushed into a corridor, Gokuu trailing.

"Understand now, princess?" Gaspard said.

She nodded. "Sure do."

* * *

Kintoun stopped near Muten Roushi, Buruma, Oolong, and Puar, who sat on pots in Heim Rada. Oolong stopped swinging his feet, jaw dropping.

Muten Roushi stood. "What happened to your leg?"

Max cringed at the image of the Chimera stomping on his leg. "A monster broke it."

Buruma left Heim Rada to retrieve Dr. Dell. After several minutes, she returned, Dr. Dell alongside her.

Dr. Dell examined the leg, which beat as quickly as Max's heart. "Normally, it would take at least six weeks to heal."

Max's face fell. "At least? But Gaspard's with Monica. He might—"

"Gaspard?"

Max cringed once more. "It's a long story. Gaspard's one of Griffon's henchmen. He used to be, we think. He might still have something up his sleeve."

"I'm sure Gokuu and the others can protect her if he tries something," Muten Roushi said. "And you're underestimating Monica. She's pretty strong herself."

"Yeah, but now Gaspard has a shell."

Muten Roushi tightened his grip on his cane, lips pursing. "I saw. Nevertheless, Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha should have been training with shells longer than Gaspard. They'll be able to overpower him if he tries anything."

"I know, but…" His hand clutched his heart. "Is there any way to get this leg healed faster?"

"I don't have any medicine that sets broken bones." Dr. Dell's eyes lit up. "The Shigura travel a lot. They have to have something to heal broken bones. I'm sure they see a lot of them."

"Great idea." His grin was replaced by a frown. "But the Shigura already went on their journey. How are we gonna find them?"

"That's a good question." He pointed at Kintoun. "We could look for them on Kintoun. They probably haven't gone too far from Veniccio."

"You need a pure heart to get on, but I'm not too worried about that. Try it."

Dr. Dell placed his hands on Kintoun, and Max's expression brightened.

"Looks like you'll be able to get on."

He clambered in front of Max, settling into a cross-legged position.

"Will you two be all right?" Muten Roushi said. "There may be monsters outside of Veniccio."

"Neither one of us needs to be injured," Dr. Dell said, "especially you, Max. Who has a pure heart and can fight?"

Max nodded toward Mount Gundor, which loomed above them. "Monica and Gokuu."

"At least one of them will have to come with us."

"Monica would be best," he said quickly.

"M-Monica it is, then."

Max patted the cloud. "Kintoun, go back into Mount Gundor, on the floor we just came out of, and find Monica and the others. They shouldn't have finished that floor yet."

He gripped his cap, and Kintoun sped into Mount Gundor.

* * *

Monica and the remainder of the six entered Max's and Dr. Dell's views. Gokuu directed his attention to them, the remainder of the group following suit.

"Hey, you're back," Gokuu said. "What're you guys gonna do?"

"Max wants to get back in action as soon as possible," Dr. Dell said, "but a broken leg takes at least six weeks to heal. We think the Shigura have medicine that sets broken bones. We're going to head to Veniccio, so we need someone who has a pure heart and can fight to come with us just in case we encounter any monsters."

"Can you come with us, Monica?" Max said. Kuririn and Yamcha nodded.

Monica glanced at Gaspard, whose eyes were fixed upon her. "Actually, um…" She grabbed Gokuu by the shoulders and pushed him before herself. "I think it'd be better if Gokuu went instead. He'd be able to keep you guys safe better than I can. I mean, he's much, much faster and stronger than me. Speed and strength, all in one."

"She puts up a good argument, Max," Dr. Dell said.

Max nearly groaned, taking off his cap and running a hand through his hair. Kuririn shifted from side to side.

"I know what you're trying to do," she mouthed. "I. Will. Be. Okay."

Max mouthed, "But…"

"I've got no problem going." Gokuu climbed onto Kintoun. Monica allowed herself to smile. Max's brows arched upward, jaw slack.

"Good luck, guys." Monica waved.

"Yes." Gaspard waved. "Find them quickly. You don't need to fall into any more pain."

Kintoun flew over the wall, Max staring, open-mouthed, at Monica, not noticing Kuririn and Yamcha step nearer to her.


	59. Annoyances

**Chapter Fifty-nine: Annoyances**

Mayor Need sat on the edge of the pier, dangling his bare feet into the sea. The evening sun illuminated the sea with an orange glow, enabling him to see Bon scattering. Some brushed his toes and soles, and he shifted backward, chuckling at the tickling sensation.

Morton had sent him weekly mail informing him of Palm Brinks' status. The Fishing Contest and Finny Frenzy were crowded each time they occurred, and many citizens said they looked forward to the next one once the current one ended. Fabio would return from Sindain to enter each Fishing Contest. He placed first in all of them, but other contestants' fish became larger every contest. He would not be on top much longer.

Olivie placed first in most Finny Frenzies as well. Morton had written that he believed Firbits carried a special connection to fish if they were able to place first in nearly all of the contests. Mayor Need had replied, "I think they enjoy fishing a lot more than the rest of the citizens."

Cedric had told him of Max's fishing misadventures.

"On second thought, Max probably enjoys fishing just as much as they do."

Morton had answered, "Both Fabio and Olivie are looking forward to Max's return."

A whooshing sound from the sky jolted Mayor Need out of his reflections. Another cloud flew past the clouds drifting by one another. He scrambled backward, hitting his feet on the pier.

Claire ran out of the red house. "Daddy, what's wrong?"

He pointed at the approaching cloud. "Something's flying up there. It might be one of those monsters."

"You've seen that before. That's what Max and his friends use for transportation sometimes. It's called, 'Kintoun' if I remember right."

His breathing slowed. "Oh. Oh, that's right." He withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his forehead.

Kintoun, on which sat Max, Gokuu, and Dr. Dell, lowered itself to the piers. Before Claire and Mayor Need could greet the three, their eyes snapped to the jutted leg.

Claire gasped. "Max, what happened to your leg?"

"A bird monster in Mount Gundor fell on it," Max said as Gokuu ran inside Pau's cave. "We're here to find the Shigura and see if they have any medicine that sets broken bones. I was thinking of taking Pau with us so he could see Shingala again. Hopefully, he can ride on Kintoun."

"Okay. Good luck, and get better soon."

Gaspard appeared in his mind's eye. "Don't worry. We'll definitely grab that medicine soon."

"How're things going in Mount Gundor?" Mayor Need said.

Max's forced smile appeared as a smirk. "Pretty good. We're still gathering Geostones, but it looks like Gundorada Workshop's almost finished. All we're missing is Paznos."

Mayor Need's eyes softened. "So you're close to saving your mother."

"Yeah."

Mayor Need looked toward the glowing horizon. "Elena was a welcome sight in Palm Brinks. She was friendly toward all the citizens. I'm sure they all miss her as well."

Gokuu returned, Pau running alongside him. He climbed onto Kintoun before Max.

Pau winced at Max's leg. "That monster must've been really big." He placed his hands on Kintoun.

Gokuu grinned. "Great, Pau. You can climb on."

Pau clambered on behind Dr. Dell. "When we saw the Shigura leave, they were heading toward the north. If we go in that direction, we should come across them eventually."

"I hope sooner than eventually," Max muttered.

"Go fast, Kintoun," Gokuu said. "We gotta get back to Mount Gundor as quick as possible."

Max gripped his cap, and Kintoun sped over the horizon, Claire and Mayor Need waving.

* * *

After fighting numerous monsters, Monica, Kuririn, Yamcha, and Gaspard reached the floor's exit: a hole in the ground. Above the hole hung a stalactite, to which Monica pointed.

"Normally, we would tie the rope to that, but since we don't have one…"

"The rope wouldn't burn up?" Yamcha said.

"No. For some reason, the stalactites hanging above these holes aren't hot like the walls are. A rope would be able to hold up on it."

Kuririn peered down the hole. The jagged walls pulsed scarlet, similarly to the walls above, due to the lava running down the mountain and pooling at its mouth. The ground was not in sight. "Long way down. Jumping's not an option."

"Maybe there's another Kintoun we can call. I mean, there are so many clouds in the sky, there should be another one."

"No harm in trying."

Monica called Kintoun. No cloud arrived.

She sighed. "Guess not. Gokuu's the only one who can call Kintoun, anyway. Maybe that Lava Golem could carry us to the next floor. It should be used to this heat."

"That won't work," Kuririn said. "It's really hot. I know. I fell on it." He unfastened the belt holding his dogi together.

"What are you doing?"

"Improvising. This is the closest to a rope we've got." His eyes moved up and down the belt. "Doesn't look long enough. Yamcha-san, hand me your belt." His pants fell. He grabbed them before they reached the ground and pulled them up.

Yamcha stared at his pants for a moment. "If it's the only way." He untied the belt and gave it to Kuririn. He held his pants to his waist as Kuririn knotted the belts.

Kuririn examined the united belts. "I think this'll reach down far enough. I need to tie this onto that stalactite." He blushed. "But I'm too short."

"All of us are," Gaspard said. Kuririn smiled faintly.

"I'll lift you." Yamcha grabbed Kuririn's thighs and hoisted him to the stalactite. Kuririn tied the belt around its tip.

"Got it." He jumped from Yamcha's arms and landed before the tunnel, into which the belt was suspended. "Now all we need to do is slide down."

"I'll go first." Yamcha grabbed the belt using one hand and both knees and slid into the tunnel, using his remaining hand to grip his pants. He cringed; heat covered his body. When the surface entered his view, he dropped onto it. The belt hung two feet above it.

He cupped a hand around his mouth. "It's long enough."

Monica slid down the belt, Kuririn above her, Gaspard above him. An itch annoyed Kuririn's leg, and he reached to scratch. His pants dropped onto Monica's head. He lost his breath as though he had been punched.

Monica started, causing the rope to swing. She, Kuririn, and Gaspard neared the walls, the intensified heat drying their skin. Gaspard thrust his body backward, bringing them to the middle of the hole.

She resisted the urge to flail, hurl the pants into the lava. "Augh, I can't see."

Yamcha stifled a laugh.

"This isn't funny, Yamcha."

Yamcha continued to grin. She was unable to see, after all. "All right, I'll tell you when to jump." Once she hovered inches from the ground, he said, "Now."

Monica released her grip, and she slid onto her feet. She snatched the pants out of her eyes and shoved them into Kuririn's arms. He had landed beside her and twisted his legs over each other to hide his boxers.

"I'm sorry, ma'am." Kuririn slid on his pants. "Won't happen again."

"We almost died because of that. If we had actually touched the walls, we would've burned to ashes."

Kuririn gulped, tightening his grip on his pants as Gaspard landed beside Yamcha.

"Now it's obvious you need a belt."

"We can't go back up to untie them," Gaspard said. "You'll have to go without belts."

Yamcha suppressed a groan. "We'll do the best we can."

* * *

Kintoun arrived in an empty Shigura Village. The evening sun peeked over the horizon yet flooded the sand, sea, rocks, palm trees in orange.

Max pointed toward the sun. "They went that way the last we saw them. The Shigura didn't look too fast, so we should be able to catch up to them."

Kintoun flew toward the horizon, passing several islands. They soon reached an island on which four Shigura children chased one another under the watchful eyes of two taller, brown Shigura. Near the edge of the island stood a tan Shigura an inch shorter than a Shigura beside it. On its other side sat a blue-skinned human, guitar resembling the Marionette in his lap, the sun warming his face.

Pau's eyes lit up. "Shingala!"

The child in the front of the other Shigura children stopped and whipped its head toward Pau. The other children bumped into it, releasing cries as they did so. Shingala remained frozen.

Shingala roared and ran toward Kintoun. Pau leaped onto the sand and hugged Shingala's head.

"Oh, Shingala, I'm so happy to see you."

Shingala nuzzled Pau for several seconds and then gazed into his eyes.

"How have you been?"

Shingala grinned at the three Shigura children behind him.

"You found some new friends to play with. That's great. I'm glad you're not lonely."

Shingala shook his head. He buried it into Pau's torso, and Pau grunted.

"Claire, Donny, and Mayor Need keep me company." He rubbed his head against Shingala's. "But that doesn't mean I don't miss you."

Pau straightened and opened his eyes. A gash was embedded in Shingala's neck.

"How'd you get that? What happened?"

Shingala whimpered.

Pau's shoulders slumped. "Playing with the other Shigura. At least no one hurt you on purpose." He flashed a glare at the blue-skinned human, who cast his eyes downward. "How come you haven't used any of the medicine yet?"

Shingala coughed, and blood splattered on Pau's clothes.

His eyes widened, an uncomfortable warmth spreading throughout his body. He ran toward Buru.

Max took off his cap to run a hand through his hair. "I was hoping Pau'd be happy, not worried. Since we don't have any Shell Talkies, it's up to you, Gokuu, to ask Buru for some medicine."

"Okay. Be right back." Gokuu jumped off Kintoun and ran to Buru, reaching him at the same time as Pau.

"I see you have returned." Gokuu's and Pau's stomachs vibrated from Buru's deep voice. "How has your journey been?"

"Good," Gokuu said. "I think we have a new ally now—that guy on the battleship, Gaspard."

The blue-skinned human, Dr. Jaming, bolted onto his feet, fumbling the guitar. "What?"

Pau's eyebrows slanted downward. "You mean, the guy who helped hurt Shingala and the other Shigura?"

"Yeah. I'm kinda worried about him myself, but Monica trusts him."

Dr. Jaming's shoulders relaxed slightly. "Monica… I suppose that makes sense. Still, be careful around him. I'm not sure what he wants, but he has his ways of getting it."

"We will. Anyway, Mr. Buru, we came because Max's leg is broken, and we were wondering if you had any medicine to heal broken bones."

"Also, I saw that Shingala has a gash on his neck. Why haven't you healed him? Don't you have medicine?"

A sound rumbled from Buru's stomach. "We did."

"Did you run out?"

Buru hung his head. "A human stole all of our medicine. We tried to retrieve it, but the human attacked us, and we had to retreat. I think he believed we were violent even though Dr. Jaming kept asking why he needed it. He never answered and only told us to mind our own business."

"How'd he attack?" Gokuu said.

"He used guns."

"How selfish," Pau said. "Because of him, Shingala could…" He closed his eyes. "I don't even want to think about it."

Gokuu looked at the surrounding vacant islands. "Where is he? I could get it back for you."

Buru nodded toward the right. "Another island to the east. We were planning on staying there because it is closer to our destination than this island. It used to be free of humans and their structures. However, that has changed."

"I'll tell him that you guys aren't monsters. That might get him to change his mind." He cracked his knuckles. "And if not, I'll have to fight him."

"Please do not use violence. It is not necessary."

"It will be if he doesn't give the medicine back."

"Anything can be solved without violence. I would prefer that you not use violence on our behalf."

"Okay. I've talked to monsters before. It should be easier to talk to a human."

"We are making more Shigura medicine, but we may not finish in time to heal Shingala. His gash is near a vital artery. If it is not healed soon…"

"Please hurry, Gokuu," Pau said.

"You didn't even have to tell me that." Gokuu looked at Kintoun, upon which Max's leg rested. "I'll swim as fast as I can." He dove into the sea, legs slapping water onto the sand.

* * *

The four encountered a Bone Lord, whose body consisted of bones serving as its armor and covered its floating skull. A sword was slung over its shoulder.

Two Ultrasonic Bombs towered beside it. They resembled Sonic Bombers, but their bodies were constructed of steel. A Balloon monster mirroring a Flotsam Balloon, save its blue hair and gray hat, sat atop the Ultrasonic Bomb.

Monica massaged her forehead. "Machines. Of course."

"Yamcha-san and I'll take care of them."

"Try to keep your pants up."

Yamcha's face reddened, and Kuririn paled.

"I didn't say that to embarrass you. I'd hate for your cause of death to be loose pants." She nodded at Gaspard. "Gaspard and I'll take care of the other monster."

Monica and Gaspard sprinted toward the Bone Lord, and the Ultrasonic Bombs stomped after them. Kuririn and Yamcha skidded before the machines, stopping their charge.

"Worry about us instead," Yamcha said.

Gaspard's blade clashed against the Bone Lord's, and their hands shook as they attempted to shove the other backward. A small boulder lay a foot from Monica. She hoisted it above her head, its weight causing her to stumble, and threw it. The boulder shattered against the Bone Lord's head. It released its blade from Gaspard's, staggering, eyes glazed.

Gaspard smiled at Monica and sliced, cracking its bones. He scowled. He wanted to half it.

Monica leaped, Claymore overhead, and swung. The top of its head ruptured. She thrust the blade deeper. Gaspard's sword caught the Bone Lord's blade in mid-slash.

"You cowards," the Bone Lord said. "Mere fleshies attacking, two against one."

"Monica, stop attacking," Gaspard said. "I may be able to talk some sense into it."

"Right, you're part mon—demon…erm…"

"Don't worry about the terminology. There's no politically correct way to put it. I am part demon, however."

Monica released her Claymore from the Bone Lord's head and dropped to her feet, keeping it raised.

"If you're part monster, why do you help humans?"

"They've helped a countless number of humans and monsters alike. They don't see different species, and they treat everyone equally.

"They helped monsters in Veniccio recover from their fear of humans, but that probably isn't of much interest to you." Gaspard smiled wryly. "They defeated the Dragons in Starlight Canyon so the monsters would no longer live in fear."

"That doesn't mean anything. They couldn't kill the Red Dragons."

Gaspard pushed harder, and the Bone Lord stepped back. "That's true, but they tried to help you all, yet you refused their help even though you knew they were trying to end the Red Dragons' reign. It doesn't matter whether they're 'fleshies,' monsters, humans, or demons. They tried to help you. They don't want to hurt you all, but you want to hurt them. Why?"

"The Red Dragons told us about the humans' wars and their destroying the land, especially Heim Rada. The gases from their structures drifted to Mount Gundor too. Heim Rada and Mount Gundor used to be covered in grass."

"That was the past. Humans are much different now. They're trying to make up for their mistakes, and they already have in Veniccio. Humans had wanted to exterminate all the monsters there to build more buildings for tourists."

"I know. They destroyed Veniccio, too."

"No, they rebuilt it. Veniccio's monsters are friendly with the humans there, and the humans don't want to build tourist attractions."

"The Red Dragons—"

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry about what others think. You're a Bone Lord, aren't you? Take charge and lead other monsters, or at least encourage them to take their own paths."

The Bone Lord stared at Gaspard and then released its blade. He straightened.

"I haven't seen firsthand what you all can do for us."

"What do you need us to prove?"

"Your loyalty."

Gaspard raised a brow. "We've already proven that to the monsters living behind the peak and the monsters in Veniccio. The Gundrons can tell you how loyal we are."

"Those monsters are weak, so we don't listen to them."

"I see."

The Bone Lord leaned onto its right foot. "We won't attack you fleshies if you prove your loyalty."

"What do you mean by 'proving?'"

It counted with its fingers. "I could use a massage, a manicure and pedicure—"

"No."

"In that case, prepare yourself." The Bone Lord's blade scraped against Gaspard's once more, sparks raining.

"This isn't helping either of us. Do you want to keep your life or not?"

"I'd rather keep it."

"Then don't attack us. That's all there is to it."

The Bone Lord slammed the tip of its blade before its body, rocks erupting around it and a clanking noise echoing. "I must become the strongest out of all the Bone Lords. The Golems from Starlight Canyon told the Lava Golems that humans are some of the strongest creatures in the world. Now, the Golems are awfully weak, but I heard that you all defeated most of the monsters in the floor before this one without a break. If I can defeat you, I can defeat anybody."

"So that's your reasoning. I'm sure that you'll be considered even stronger if you can defeat two humans."

The Bone Lord's red pupils twinkled, contrasting against its black irises. "Oh, yes, I will."

* * *

Sweat enveloped Gokuu's forehead, and his legs throbbed. He visualized Shingala, gash gushing blood while Pau watched. He quickened his pace, despite his legs' crying for him to stop or at least slow.

Another island entered his view. In its middle sat a straw house, smoke rising from the clay chimney erected upon its middle. He quickened his pace once more, the pain in his legs forgotten.

Gokuu jumped onto the island and knocked on the house's door.

"Who is it?" A gruff voice.

"Son Gokuu."

"I've never heard of a Son Gokuu before."

"You've heard of me now, so open the door."

"Get away from here, kid."

"Not until you open the door. And if you don't, I'll knock it down."

A snort. "I bet. Go play hopscotch with your girlfriends."

"What's hopscotch?"

"Look, I chose to live out here for a reason. Get away from me."

Gokuu backed away. "I'm gonna knock down the door, then."

The man sniggered.

Gokuu charged, shoulder-first, into the door. It slammed onto the ground, dust bursting around it, and the man hollered.

"Get off me!"

"Where are you?"

The house was populated with a brown, ripped couch, a stove beside the window, and a pantry across from it.

"Under the door. Where else, you brat?"

"I wouldn't really be calling me a brat right now. If I stay on this door, you'll stay under it."

"_Get off me_!"

"All right. I gotta ask you a question anyway."

He stepped off the door and lifted it. The pale man, clad in ragged white clothing, scrambled from underneath it, brown eyes wide, and Gokuu dropped the door.

"I heard you took some medicine from the Shigura. They need that medicine, and I've come to get it back."

"I need it too."

"What for?"

The man tilted his neck. A gash lined its side. "See this? Got it fishing the other day. I was trying to reel in a big one when the line snapped and the fishing rod hit me." He scowled. "I was about to use the medicine, but you interrupted me."

"Were you gonna give it back when you finished?"

"Of course not. Those giant sea dragons would eat me before I could even step on their island."

"They don't like violence. They even told me not to fight you."

The man shuddered. "That's a relief." He crossed his arms. "But I doubt they don't like violence. I mean, they were sliding after me. What was I supposed to do?"

"Give it back to them, or at least ask first."

"If I asked, they wouldn't have given it to me."

"How do you know? You never did."

"Because that's how the world works."

"No, you're just a bad guy. You oughta be thrown in prison."

The man glared out the window. "Prison. Those damn desert villagers put me in prison with no one to talk to, except that one kid and his annoying friends, especially that cat girl. She couldn't stop worshipping her master, and that fat guy wouldn't stop complaining. Actually, he wouldn't shut up, period. And then that freaking warrior guy." He shivered. "Scared the crap outta me, tearing off my prison bars. You've gotta be stronger than him." His face reddened, and a grin spread upon his face. "But, damn, that genie girl he had with him… She was the one good thing that came out of being stuck in that prison."

Gokuu stared blankly.

"And you don't care."

"Nope. Just gimme the medicine, or I'll, um, stay here until you do." He planted his feet upon the coffee-, grease-, wine-stained carpet. "You won't be able to push me out no matter how hard you try."

"You're not giving me much of a choice here. You're annoying, just like those desert villagers, and I'd rather not have an annoying, talking piece of furniture in my house." The man walked to the pantry and withdrew five jars, larger than his hands, comprised of white gel. He shoved them into Gokuu's arms. "Now scram so I can bleed to death in peace."

"Dr. Dell has some medicine that can heal anything. We can use that on your cut."

The man spat. "Really?"

"Uh-huh. I don't have any reason to lie to you."

He frowned. _He's too stupid to lie_. "All right. Go ahead and take me to this doctor and his medicine."

The man followed Gokuu outside as Gokuu said, "We'll have to swim back to the island." His face brightened, and he snapped his fingers. "I'll carry you back to the island instead. Not only would we get back to the Shigura faster, but I need to train."

The man's jaw slackened. "You serious?"

"What makes you think I'm not?"

He exhaled. "Just get me over to these Shigura so I won't have to see you again."

Gokuu dove into the sea. He surfaced and motioned for the man to meet him. "Come over here and get on my back."

The man stared at Gokuu's small stature. He shrugged. If he was too heavy, Gokuu would drown.

He climbed onto Gokuu's back, wrapping his arms around Gokuu's underarms. Gokuu swam, palms of his hands placed upon the man's back, using solely his legs to swim.

The man whistled, feeling pang of disappointment at Gokuu not sinking."How'd you get so strong?"

"Kamesennin trained me."

"Never heard of him. He must be real strong, like you, I'm guessing."

"Much stronger than me. I bet he could knock down ten doors stacked on top of each other."

The man chuckled. "Now I know not to mess with him, either."

* * *

Yamcha stepped away from the approaching Ultrasonic Bomb. Because they were in a dungeon in which the monsters were more powerful, its metal was, most likely, harder than Neo Vanguards' metal.

Although glad it was unequipped with spears, he wondered what could emerge from its funnels substituting as arms.

He did not want to find out.

He took his battle stance. He would use the same strategy as before.

He jumped toward the Balloon monster within the Ultrasonic Bomb. Swirls of air were sucked into its funnels. It emitted sonic booms, blowing him backward. His pants tumbled to the ground. When he landed, he grabbed them and raised them to his waist.

"At the moment," the Ultrasonic Bomb said, "I'm amused by the human's heart-print underwear."

The Balloon monster blurted out laughter. If the Balloon monster and Bomb wore pants, he would pull them down before killing them.

As he ran toward it, the Bomb drew in air. He ducked seconds before it belched sonic booms. He covered his ears and kicked the Bomb's body. He winced, backflipping. No dent was left. As he had suspected, its body was harder than the Neo Vanguards' bodies.

He jumped onto its right funnel and then toward the Balloon monster, leg outstretched. His pants sagged. His foot smashed the Balloon monster's face. Yamcha pushed, crushing the Balloon monster's face once more, and landed before it, thrusting his pants above his waist. His pants had weakened his kick and disabled him from punting the Balloon monster into the lava.

The Balloon monster swung its hat, brim slicing Yamcha's torso. He stepped backward. The Balloon monster stepped forward.

Yamcha crossed his arms before his chest, allowing the hat's brim to slash his arms. "I know you can understand me. Can you please stop for just a second?"

The Balloon monster continued, and Yamcha snatched the hat.

The Balloon monster lunged toward Yamcha. He backflipped; his foot became hooked on the side of the Ultrasonic Bomb momentarily before he fell, headfirst, out of the Bomb. He placed the palm of his hand upon the ground, nearly yelped, and flipped onto his feet. The Balloon monster landed before him, Yamcha shaking his smoking, blackened hand.

"We don't have to fight each other. If we do, one of us—well, you're going to die, and that's not necessary."

The Balloon monster approached him, gibbering, and the Ultrasonic Bomb faced him.

Yamcha flinched. "Now it's two against one, and I'm trying to help you guys." He blinked. "I'm trying to help you guys, but I can't even understand what you're saying."

He turned toward Kuririn, whose hands were raised, feet inches from the lava. He grinned, face drenched in sweat. Yamcha slumped.

Kuririn jumped sideways, dodging the Ultrasonic Bomb's sonic booms. He talked quickly, and the Bomb faced him.

The Balloon monster seized its hat and hacked repeatedly. Yamcha leaned backward, the hat splitting air.

The Ultrasonic Bomb emitted sonic booms, blowing the Balloon monster toward Yamcha. He caught the gibbering, flailing monster by its hand and raised it to eye level.

He flicked the hat onto the ground. "Looks like you don't have much control over your own machine."

The Balloon monster reached for its hat. Yamcha grabbed its hands and slammed them together, holding them using one hand.

"I'll get Kuririn to hear about whatever problems you might be having." He smiled weakly at Kuririn, who shuffled backward as he spoke to the Balloon monster and Ultrasonic Bomb. "He probably won't do much better with two."

* * *

Monica slashed, the Bone Lord extending its arms. The blade scraped against its nails, which it then held before its sparkling eyes.

"Nice manicure. That's all you'd have to do if you wanted me to—"

Monica sliced its torso. She twirled and nearly slashed a second time, but Gaspard outstretched an arm before her.

"What is it?"

"You want us to scrape our blades against your nails," Gaspard said. "That's your idea of a manicure?"

"Of course. What else is a manicure?"

"I have no idea what's going on," Monica said.

Gaspard explained.

Monica sighed. "If it keeps us from killing them. Besides, it'll only take two seconds."

Gaspard scraped his blade against the Bone Lord's toenails, which, alongside its fingernails, glinted in the lava's light. It grinned at its nails' shine.

"Thank you, thank you. I see that you mean no harm. I can convince the rest of the Bone Lords that humans can be servants."

Gaspard's brows arched upward. "Excuse me?"

The Bone Lord pranced away, winking at its reflection in its nails.

Gaspard's expression returned to stoicism. "Princess, you're about to become a servant."

* * *

Blue mounds, the Shigura, entered Gokuu's and the former prisoner's views. Pau sat against Shingala, head leaning on his stomach. Dr. Dell stood before the Shigura children.

"See? I can fly." Dr. Dell rose and hovered, flapping his hands, which spread so that they resembled wings. The Shigura children laughed.

Max lay on Kintoun, smiling at the sky, hands tucked beneath his head. He imagined his mother beside him, repelling thoughts about Monica and Gaspard; Kuririn and Yamcha remained at her side.

"What is this?" the man said.

"The sea dragons are Shigura, and the—"

"I know what they are, kid." He stared at Dr. Dell, who lingered in the air. "Just, that…"

Gokuu placed his hands upon the surface. The man rolled off Gokuu's back, onto the sand.

The island fell silent. Max jolted upright, inhaled sharply, and caressed his leg. His face lit up at the man, who started. "You got it?"

Gokuu pointed to the man. "Yeah, from that guy."

"'That guy' has a name, and it's Gron."

"I'm Son Gokuu."

"I already know your name."

"Then I'll go ahead and give Max and Pau the medicine."

Gokuu gave Pau the medicine and then rubbed gel-covered hands onto Max's leg. A white orb surrounded the leg. The leg moved to its original position, clicking into place.

"That's much better." Max leaped off Kintoun and ran the length of the island and back. He thrust a fist into the air. "All right. Now we can get back to Mount Gundor."

Gron stared at Pau massaging the medicine into Shingala's gash. A white light shimmered around the gash, and both disappeared. Pau embraced Shingala's head.

"You feeling better, Shingala?" Once Shingala nodded, Pau said, "That's great. I'm so glad." He beamed at Gokuu. "Thanks a lot, Gokuu."

"Uh-huh."

Gron scratched the back of his head and approached Pau, whose expression became neutral.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have done that in the first place. My social skills have taken a blow since I've been in prison, not that that's a good reason or anything. Sounds more like an excuse."

Pau nodded.

A glare flickered across Gron's features. "Seems like both of us think alike. Neither one of us like to hear excuses or anything, I mean. I'm sorry about that. Next time I need medicine, I'll actually go to a store, where people are. How's your Shigura doing?"

The grin returned to Pau's face. "He's all better."

"That's good. That kid, Gokuu, he told me your Shigura almost died because I took all your medicine. I hate people, but I don't wish death on them, or Shigura, for that matter. I won't do it again."

"Great. Shingala wouldn't put up with it anyway. He's going to be the next tribe elder."

"Quite a bold statement." He placed his hands upon his hips. "And what will Shingala do to become the tribe elder?"

Shingala released a sound. Gron was unable to tell what it resembled. The closest he thought of was a sound of triumph, as though Shingala had already become tribe elder.

"He's going to become one of the most-liked Shigura in the tribe, and he'll make better efforts to communicate with humans."

"Communication. Not one of my best assets." He ran a hand through his brown, disheveled hair, mussing it more. "I'm gonna apologize to the tribe elder. Have a nice life."

Gron walked past the Shigura, eyes darting to their smiles. He exhaled upon reaching Buru. Beside Buru, Dr. Jaming smiled, front teeth protruding farther than usual.

"I came to say sorry about what happened earlier. So, sorry. I won't take your medicine again. And it's not your fault I took the medicine. I'm not that great at speaking to people."

"That is all right," Buru said. "You only took it because you had an injury of your own, did you not?"

Gron furrowed his brow.

"I've been catching on to the Shigura's language." Dr. Jaming translated.

Gron tilted his neck, revealing the gash. "Yeah, that's right."

"Then you are forgiven on behalf of my entire tribe."

Gron felt himself smile. "So quickly? Wow, thanks. I'm Gron, by the way. Anytime you wanna rest at my island, go ahead."

"Thank you, Gron. I am Buru. We will be sure to visit you occasionally."

"Okay, that's fine." The sun disappeared behind the horizon, the moon replacing it and bathing the island in silver. "Company sounds nice, actually."

* * *

"Yamcha-san, why exactly did you bring them here?"

"To explain to them that we mean no harm, like you were doing before."

"…Are you trying to kill me?"

Kuririn and Yamcha stood before two Ultrasonic Bombs and two Balloon monsters. One Balloon monster had raised its hat, prepared to strike.

Yamcha clapped a hand upon Kuririn's shoulder. "C'mon, Kuririn, you can do it."

Kuririn sighed. He cleared his throat and began his explanation, the monsters silent. He spoke of their saving the monsters in Starlight Canyon, their attempt to save the monsters from the Red Dragons, at which a Balloon monster scoffed, and the Terra Fairies' approval and reward.

"At this moment," an Ultrasonic Bomb said, "I don't know what Terra Fairies are."

"That makes all of us," a Balloon monster said.

"They're creatures that reward others if they do unselfish acts, like what we did. They even bring you back to life if they think you're necessary for the world. They said we showed an amazing display of compassion if I remember right."

"So?"

"'So?' We're trying to keep you from being killed by us, especially since it's not necessary. And I thought you got the memo that humans tried to save you all from the Red Dragons."

The Ultrasonic Bomb stomped, jostling Kuririn and Yamcha. "At this moment, we don't listen to the monsters living on the other side of the peak. They're much weaker than us. They can't handle this heat."

"The farther up the mountain you go, the thinner the air, though."

The Balloon monster snorted lightly. "Thinner air is nothing compared to this heat."

"Have you ever been up there to see?"

"No."

"Then you don't know that for sure. You should go up there and check. I'm sure Mount Gundor would be a much better place if all the monsters got along."

"We are not interested." The Balloon monster glared further at Kuririn. "We are interested, however, in keeping humans away from our territory."

"Why?"

"Because the Red Dragons forbid humans."

"One, they're gone. Two, why?"

"We do not know."

He rolled his eyes. "Exactly. This is stupid."

"We don't believe so."

He swept a hand over his the top of his head. "How about this? We do what you want us to do as long as you don't attack us."

The Balloon monsters exchanged looks and then looked at the Ultrasonic Bombs. Kuririn raised a brow.

"At this moment, we do not accept your offer."

Kuririn groaned. "At what moment will you?"

"None."

The Ultrasonic Bombs ran toward Kuririn and Yamcha, both of whom galloped backward.

"I take it you weren't able to persuade them."

Kuririn shook his head.

"And Monica will be so disappointed."

He tripped and scrambled to remain upright. "Yamcha-san, when will you repay me for saving you from the Auntie Medusa?"

"I haven't had any chances yet. When I do, I will."

Kuririn and Yamcha gathered energy into their legs, which blue auras surrounded. They vaulted toward the Ultrasonic Bombs, legs outstretched, hands gripping their pants.

"If we're going to kick them," Yamcha said, "we have to use all our strength. I kicked earlier, but I didn't even faze it thanks to my pants."

They jabbed their feet into the Ultrasonic Bombs' torsos, denting them, and landed some feet away, the Ultrasonic Bombs emitting sonic booms.

"At this moment, I'm wondering why you don't get help us kill them."

"Because we simply do not wish to get hurt," the Balloon monster floating in the Ultrasonic Bomb said.

"At this moment, I think that's really selfish."

"Nothing you can do about that."

The seat underneath the Balloon monster ejected, and the Balloon monster was tossed out. It skidded on its face until reaching Kuririn's and Yamcha's feet. Its hat drifted to the ground before the Ultrasonic Bombs.

"Looks like there was something they could do," Kuririn said.

"Do not joke with us, young man. We need your help defeating these machines."

Kuririn crossed his arms. "Oh, now you want our help." He thought of Monica. "Not that we won't give it to you." He looked at a smirking Yamcha, who nodded. "Let's do it."

Kuririn, Yamcha, and the Balloon monsters ran toward the Ultrasonic Bombs. When they neared the Ultrasonic Bombs, the Balloon monsters stopped. Kuririn grumbled.

Kuririn ducked underneath the sonic booms and then sprang upward, slamming his aura-enveloped fist into the Ultrasonic Bomb's torso, deepening its then kicked the dent, rupturing it into a hole, from which wires burst. Electricity spread around the Ultrasonic Bomb.

He fell, scrambled into a standing position, and ran away from the machine, near the Balloon monsters, who, alongside him, shielded themselves from the explosion. Debris bounced off their hands and forearms, and heat seared their bodies.

They uncovered their hands. Black charred the area in which the Ultrasonic Bomb had stood.

* * *

Yamcha slammed his aura-covered feet onto the Ultrasonic Bomb's funnel, a hole tearing. No wires protruded, nor did electricity spark. Yamcha frowned, facing the dent in its torso.

He amassed energy in his feet. The Ultrasonic Bomb spun, body blurring. The energy in his feet dispersed, and he fell into a crouch, grabbing the Ultrasonic Bomb's funnel.

"At this moment, I'd like you to know that I never get dizzy."

Yamcha was thrown off the Ultrasonic Bomb. He fell against the wall, the heat burning, and jumped onto the ground. Smoke rose from his back. The Ultrasonic Bomb continued to spin.

He exhaled, and his shoulders sunk. Energy assembled throughout his body. He moved the energy to his legs and feet, and the aura grew brightest around them.

The Ultrasonic Bomb stopped. "At this moment, I've finally realized that you've already gotten off."

Yamcha dashed toward the Ultrasonic Bomb, which turned so that its back faced him. He flipped over it and kicked the dent into a hole. Wires protruded, and sparks darted around the hole. Yamcha returned to Kuririn and the Balloon monsters.

The explosion echoed throughout the corridor, and he, Kuririn, and the Balloon monsters crossed their arms and hands before their bodies. When the heat and debris dissipated and ceased their fall respectively, they uncovered their bodies. A scorched ground remained.

Kuririn wiped his brow. He and Yamcha exchanged grins.

"Good job, fellows," a Balloon monster said.

Kuririn scowled. "You owe us big time. How much influence do you have on the monsters here?"

"Since we are always in machines, the monsters don't respect us much. They believe that we're weak."

"Never mind, then. We don't need you. You can go on your merry little way."

"We'll remember this." The Balloon monsters floated, merging with the red glow in the distance.

* * *

"All right. " Max stretched upon his, Gokuu, and Dr. Dell's arrival in Heim Rada. "I'm back."

"Your leg's all healed?" Oolong sat on a pot along with Buruma, Muten Roushi, and Puar.

Max withdrew his weapons. "Sure is, and I'm ready to head back in Mount Gundor."

"Worried about Monica, are you?" Muten Roushi said.

"Yeah. I know Kuririn and Yamcha could take care of her, but it's always good to have a little backup. Gokuu, let's head out."

"Kamesennin, are we allowed to take Kintoun?"

Muten Roushi nodded, pushing his sunglasses nearer to his eyes. "I do consider this an emergency."

* * *

Kuririn scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, Monica. We weren't able to save the machines. Yamcha-san and I really tried, though."

Yamcha nudged Kuririn using his elbow. "Oh, Kuririn, don't give me any credit. You're the one who did all the talking." Kuririn's cheeks pinked.

"Thanks, guys. I did watch a bit, and I could see that you both tried your best." Her smile broadened. "I also noticed that you defeated the machines quicker than in Ocean's Roar Cave. That's amazing."

Kuririn grinned. "They were easier to beat. They didn't have those swords for arms."

"It's kinda ironic," Yamcha said, "considering that their bodies were tougher than the machines in Ocean's Roar Cave."

Gaspard turned toward the distance. "Let's keep going. I'm sure Max would want to continue."

Monica, Kuririn, and Yamcha turned, and Monica and Gaspard led Kuririn and Yamcha deeper into the floor.

"Thank you, too, Gaspard."

Gaspard eyed Monica. Yamcha blinked.

"You did your best today, keeping us from killing the monsters. And you kept us from touching the walls when Kuririn's pants fell on me."

Kuririn scratched the side of his face.

"You're welcome, princess. I'm sorry for getting us involved with the Bone Lords."

She shook her head. "No, it'll be worth it. I wish the people from the future were watching you right now. I bet they'd be pretty happy."

Gaspard prevented his smile from becoming a smirk. "I'm sure."


	60. Pains in the Stomach

**Chapter Sixty: Pains in the Stomach**

If it was one thing the Balloon monsters had a qualm with, it was the thick air. Some monsters, mostly the King Mimics, wolfed more than their fair share because it was not difficult enough to breathe in Mount Gundor.

The two Balloon monsters jumped down the hole leading to the next floor, wincing at the heat enveloping their bodies. They stumbled upon their landing and floated deeper into the corridor. They turned the corner, and a chest stood before them. One rapped on it. It grew in size, an eye rolling from the back of its lid to the front, tongue lapping at the air to further hinder breathing.

"What do you want?"

"How rude. I was going to ask nicely, but I suppose I cannot do that anymore."

The King Mimic snorted and then spat. A yellowish green glob splattered in the Balloon monster's face. It staggered backward, tearing at the glob.

"Why did you perform that action?" the other Balloon monster said.

The King Mimic smirked as the first Balloon monster threw the globs onto the ground. They sizzled, and rancidness spread. "Why not?"

"Why, I can think of many reasons."

"And I don't wanna hear them." If it had feet, it would have tapped them. "What did you wake me up for this time?"

The Balloon monster removed the last bit of spittle from its face and shook its hand so that it pattered to the ground. The odor intensified. "We've come to ask you to stop breathing in so much air."

The King Mimic slumped. "Really?"

"Yes. We are serious."

"I oughta kill you two. I really should."

The Balloon monster cleared its throat and puffed its head. "This is a serious matter. Your breathing in so much air makes it more difficult for smaller monsters, such as myself and my companion, to breathe. We could die because of you."

The King Mimic heaved in air, exhaled shallowly, and gulped in air. "I'd gladly make that happen."

"Can you not be more sensitive to others' needs?"

It scowled. "Are you really saying that?"

"Of course." The Balloon monster's head swelled farther. "The Balloon monsters are looking out for smaller monsters by speaking with larger, stronger monsters like you and persuading them to stop harming our environment."

A vein protruded above the King Mimic's eye. "No, the only reason you're talkin' to me is because you can't handle it down here." It doubled over, clutching its body, and whimpered. The Balloon monsters snickered.

The King Mimic half-opened an eye. "You're not going to ask what's wrong?"

"Not after the way you spoke to us."

The Balloon monsters swiveled around and floated around the corner. "Besides," one said, "it would be best if you were no longer around to eat all the air."

The King Mimic placed knobby arms upon the ground and pushed. "I recover from stuff like this pretty quickly. Once I do, you two are the first ones on my hit list."

The Balloon monsters stilled, and the whiteness drained from their bodies. They turned the corner to face the King Mimic.

"We will assist you with your stomach issues. What must we do?"

"Stomatitis…berries." It clattered onto its side.

* * *

Red and orange blurred past Max's and Gokuu's views as Kintoun flew through a hole, a belt hanging within, the wind from Kintoun's flight rippling it sideways.

"That rope looks like the belt I have on," Gokuu said.

"That bird monster tore up the rope," Max said," so it's probably Kuririn or Yamcha's belts."

"Kintoun, go back up to the top of the hole."

Kintoun lurched backward. Light-headedness sickened Max, and he pressed his hand harder upon his head. They soon hovered before the stalactite the belt had been fastened around. Gokuu untied the belt and, while stuffing it into Max's pouch, grasped a knot in its middle. He paused.

"They must've tied their belts together since just one wasn't long enough." Gokuu wadded the remainder into a ball and then pushed it into Max's pouch. Kintoun jerked down the hole once more, and Max smacked a hand over his mouth, cheeks bulging.

"I bet it was real hard to fight without belts. I would've taken my pants off, but Monica probably wouldn't let me."

Kintoun turned so that the world was no longer tilted to the boys. They passed through several corridors and clearings, Max's breathing returning to normal, until four silhouettes entered their views. The silhouettes lightened, revealing themselves to be Monica, Kuririn, Yamcha, and Gaspard.

Gokuu waved. "We're back."

The four turned toward them, and Kuririn's face brightened two shades. Before Kintoun stopped, Gokuu jumped off and sprinted to them. Once Kintoun stopped inches away, Max followed suit. Gokuu pulled the belts out of Max's pouch, untied them, and gave one to Kuririn and the other to Yamcha. They tied the belts around their waists.

"Much better." Kuririn kicked the air, glimpsing Gaspard.

"How did you fight without belts?" Gokuu said. "Did Monica let you guys take your pants off?"

"They didn't ask," Monica said.

Kuririn tapped the tips of his fingers. "That's a strange question to ask someone. Besides, where would I put them?"

Gokuu pointed to Monica's pouch. "You could fit them in there."

Monica guarded her pouch using her hands. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"They wouldn't fit in here."

"But we fit all kinds of stuff in your pouches. Max probably still has the aquarium in his."

Max averted his gaze to the ground, nodding.

"Why?" Yamcha said.

"How?" Kuririn said.

"It doesn't matter." Monica shifted onto her right foot. "How did things go on your end?"

Max and Gokuu explained what had happened.

"I wonder why that guy was so stingy," Kuririn said.

Gokuu shrugged. "I think it was just because he was a bad guy."

"There's probably a reason why he was a 'bad guy,'" Monica said. "But I'm glad everything worked out in the end."

Max glanced at a smirking Gaspard. His brows slanted downward. "So am I." He faced the crimson-glowing distance. "Let's keep going."

For several minutes, the six ran through the floor. Monica and Gaspard stopped. The boys behind them slid to stops, Gokuu nearly colliding with Yamcha's legs.

Some yards ahead floated two Balloon monsters and laid a King Mimic, arms wrapped around its body, gibbering to one another.

"Those white things look like the monsters we faced in the last floor," Kuririn said. "I think we're on good terms with them, though. They might be trying to convince that treasure chest that we're good guys." He narrowed his eyes. "Actually, the way they acted before, probably not."

"Right," Yamcha said. "I don't think they would face monsters twice the size of them by themselves. Whatever's going on, it must be a pretty big problem."

"I've read that some Mimics grow into King Mimics either when they gather enough treasure in their chests," Monica said, "or when they constantly train. This King Mimic must have gotten a lot of treasure, and that must have given it stomatitis. I bet that's why it looks so hurt right now."

"Then the Balloon monsters must be trying to help it." Kuririn blinked. "I never thought they'd be so unselfish."

Yamcha crossed his arms. "They probably annoyed that King Mimic, and it must've wanted to kill them. I bet they're just trying to get on its good side so it won't."

"A much more plausible explanation."

Monica stepped away from the corner. "If we help this King Mimic, maybe we can get on all the Mimics' good sides, and we don't have to worry about them attacking us anymore. But I can't transform into a Himarra, or the ground'll scald my feet. Plants and lava don't mix."

Gokuu outstretched his arms. "I can carry you."

"…A little embarrassing, but okay." She unequipped her shell.

Kuririn strode toward her. "I'll carry that for you, Monica."

"Thanks." She hoisted it into Kuririn's arms. Kuririn grunted, eyes jutting momentarily.

He chuckled, more sweat bursting on his forehead. "No problem at all."

"It'd be best if you left that shell here," Gaspard said. "You don't need anything else making it harder for you to fight."

"Good point." Kuririn set the shell onto the ground. The ground did not char it.

"I'm ready, Gokuu."

Gokuu raised Monica above his head, and she transformed into a Himarra. He led the group to the King Mimic and Balloon monsters.

The King Mimic half-opened its eyes. "Came to help so I wouldn't kill you either?" It squeaked, tightening its grip around its stomach.

"We prefer not to kill when it's not necessary," Gaspard said.

The King Mimic examined each of the six. It scrunched its face and sniffed.

"Two of you aren't exactly human. I'm not sure what you are, but why do you help the humans? They polluted our territory."

"Other humans may have"—Gaspard gestured toward the five—"but they didn't." His expression softened. "And they're trying to help me. Helping them is the least I can do."

A faint smile appeared on Max's face.

"Now, tell us what's bothering you."

It tumbled onto its other side. "Stomatitis. Happens when you eat too much. Doesn't go away for a few weeks."

"Max, maybe Dr. Dell's medicine'll work," Monica said. "He has stomatitis like I thought, so rub it there." She pointed to the lower half of the King Mimic's body.

Max withdrew a jar of white medicine from his pouch. He crouched beside the King Mimic and rubbed the gel on the specified place.

The King Mimic grinded its teeth. "Not working."

Monica translated, and Max looked at her. She shrugged.

"Is there anything we can use to treat it?" Monica said as Max stood, cramming the jar into his pouch.

"Berries. Specific kind. Dunno which."

"As he was telling us," a Balloon monster said. "We were just about to find this berry."

Kuririn raised a brow. "So you can actually help us this time."

"As long as we are not attacked."

"I know."

The King Mimic pointed to the distance using a wobbly arm. "Maybe some other monsters'll know what kind. Go deeper, find out. Sorry if they attack. Everyone here's real opinionated. Can't do anything about that."

"We know what to do," Monica said. "Sorry, Gokuu, but it looks like you'll have to carry me for a little while."

"That's okay. It's like training. You're pretty heavy."

Kuririn paled. "Oh, _Gokuu_."

Silence pervaded throughout the corridor for several moments. Kuririn's eyes darted from a frowning Monica, to Gokuu, and back. Max stared at them, open-mouthed. Yamcha held his breath. Gaspard's smirk expanded into a smile.

She looked forward. "I'm going to blame that on your nonexistent social skills. Let's get this berry."

"And we will assist you." The Balloon monsters guided the six deeper into the floor.

"You're taking the initiative," Kuririn said. "I'm impressed. Does this mean that you're going to protect us?"

"Don't be daft."

The group arrived in a clearing. Several treasure chests were scattered about.

"Mimics often gather, like so, to regroup," a Balloon monster said.

Monica furrowed her brow. "Regroup for what?"

"Humans."

She gestured toward the treasure chests. "This isn't regrouping. They're not discussing anything. They're just sitting here."

"They must have discussed plans to exterminate all humans from this world earlier. They believe that, by doing so, they will be anointed to kinghood. Now they are resting, one of their favorite, and only, pastimes." The Balloon monster floated forward.

Gokuu followed, as did the remainder of the six. "They can't just train their way to kinghood?"

"I've also read that another King Mimic has to anoint a Mimic to kinghood," Monica said. "That's only once they have enough treasure in their chest or if they've trained a lot."

"Then it's kind of like royalty?" Yamcha said.

"Not exactly. All Mimics stay asleep an awful lot." She stretched. "And, as we all know, true royalty doesn't do that."

"I am certain that these Mimics know what type of berry the King Mimic requires. Some of them have eaten themselves silly trying to become King Mimics."

"The book that you read didn't say what the cure for stomatitis was?" Kuririn said.

Monica shook her head. "Unfortunately. It'd certainly save us a lot of trouble."

The group ran to one treasure chest. Yamcha reached toward it, and the chest's lid shot open, fangs bared. The Mimic jumped toward him, chomping the air. He grabbed the Mimic's sides and held it at arms' length. Slobber dampened Yamcha's face and torso.

"Hey, hey, not on the face. It's the most important part of my body."

Monica rolled her eye.

The Mimic spat, and the spittle splashed in Yamcha's eyes. He yelped and scrambled backward, tossing the Mimic. The Mimic bounced toward him and latched its fangs onto his crotch. He screamed, voice heightening several octaves, and galloped backward, arms lashing toward the Mimic to pull it off.

He tripped over his feet and fell on his back, the Mimic holding fast. Gaspard pried the Mimic off, and Yamcha jumped to his feet, smoke billowing from his back. He twisted his legs over each other, hands covering his crotch.

Gaspard threw the Mimic several feet backward. The Mimic jumped upright, seething.

Kuririn's brows had arched upward, jaw slack. Gokuu had shut his eyes, resisting the urge to drop Monica so that he could cover his crotch alongside Max, Kuririn, and Gaspard.

Monica crossed her leg-like roots. "Even I felt that."

Max squeaked, "Yamcha, are you o—?"

"What do you think?" Yamcha's body quaked, and tears flowed from his eyes.

Gaspard tore his hands away from his crotch and unsheathed his sword.

The Mimic hurtled toward Gaspard. He slammed both hands upon its body and shoved. It thumped onto the ground and then rolled upright, frothing at the mouth.

"One—" Gaspard's voice had also heightened, and he cleared his throat to restore its deepness. "One of your fellow King Mimics is in trouble."

The Mimic's eye twinkled. "Really?" It rubbed its hands together, whispering, "If I help it, I might be able to be promoted to King Mimic. What's wrong with it?"

Gaspard glanced at the closed Mimics around him and whispered, "It has something called stomatitis. It needs a specific berry to help it, but we don't know which one."

The Mimic slammed a fist into the palm of its hand. "Okay. Let's go find this berry."

"What? Don't you know what kind?"

"'Course not. I've never eaten enough treasure to get stomatitis." The lower half of its body ballooned. "And, even if I did, I'd suffer through it, proving my toughness and possibly being anointed to King Mimic."

Gsapard looked at the remainder of the group. Monica sighed as Yamcha stumbled upright.

The Mimic placed the palms of its hands on the ground and then pushed itself toward the corridor. "I'll help you look for it. We can't ask any more Mimics, or they'll help." It glowered at the Balloon monsters. "And I take it that you two are helping, too?"

"Yes. We're looking out for the greater good of all the monsters."

"So the King Mimic threatened you."

"We are not as selfish as you believe."

"Hold on," Monica said. "We'll need the others' help since you don't know what kind of berry it is."

The Mimic turned around and gnawed toward Yamcha. His arms shot to his crotch, and he crossed his legs. "No, else I'll bite you again."

Tears threatened to fall from Yamcha's eyes once more. "Please don't get the other Mimics' help, guys. Please."

Monica smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, but we have to."

He sniveled.

"I'll slice you in half if you don't let us get the other Mimics' help," Gaspard said, and Yamcha's expression brightened. "Then you won't be able to become a King Mimic."

The Mimic shrunk. "Fair enough."

The group opened the remainder of the chests in the clearing, most of which were Mimics, yet none knew the type of berry that could relieve stomatitis. The Mimics accompanied the group through the floor, opening unknowing Mimics. After gathering every Mimic within the floor and finding a Geostone in a dead end, the group stopped in a clearing.

"All right, everyone," a Mimic said. "Open up and dump everything you've got on the ground."

The Mimics vomited. Wind Crystals, Power Crystals, cheese, Premium Chickens, and other items spilled onto the ground.

"No berries," Monica said.

"We live in a volcano."

Monica's green cheeks became rose-colored. "Right. A volcano. No wonder."

"Maybe some of the Mimics in Starlight Canyon'll know," Max said. "Even though Rainbow Butterfly Wood is more likely to have berries, the monsters there would definitely be trying to kill us."

"And it's not worth getting killed over a berry," Kuririn said.

Monica rubbed her forehead. "Just one pain after the other."

"You're going to Starlight Canyon?" A Mimic inched toward the group, and the Balloon monsters inched backward. "No, that won't do. I must become a King Mimic."

The Mimics leaped toward the group, the six jumped backward, and the Balloon monsters scuttled sideways. The ground quaked upon the Mimics' collective landing.

Monica groaned. "It just doesn't end."

Gaspard raised his hands. "We won't let the Mimics there take credit for getting the berry."

"And how will you do that?"

"We'll think of a way. Please trust us."

The Mimics exchanged looks.

"What do you have to lose?" Kuririn said. "Other than not becoming King Mimics, I mean."

The Mimics growled.

"Exactly."

"You're leaving us here with these bru—" A Balloon monster's eyes flickered to the Mimic's darkened expressions. "You're leaving us with these…other monsters?"

"Yep. You haven't helped us much here, so I doubt you'd help us in Starlight Canyon." He spun a finger inside his ear. "To be honest, I wouldn't be sad if you died."

"I'm getting sick of you myself." Monica gestured toward Kuririn and Yamcha. "They could've died because of you."

Kuririn stifled a grin, glaring instead. "That's right."

A Balloon monster scoffed. "Every monster for himself."

"That's a nice attitude to live life with."

The Mimics approached the six. Kuririn dashed ahead.

Gokuu followed. "Wait, Kuririn. We can ride Kintoun."

Kuririn whirled around. "I just didn't want them to bite me like they did to Yamcha-san."

Gokuu shuddered. "I know." He called Kintoun and climbed on. Monica de-transformed and sat behind him. Once the trio had settled onto the cloud, Kuririn, Yamcha, and Gaspard holding one another's hands, Kintoun sped into the sky.

After an hour, they arrived in Starlight Canyon. The trio hopped off, and Kuririn, Yamcha, and Gaspard released each other's hands. Kintoun merged with the clouds.

"If I remember correctly," Max said, "this is the floor where a lot of Mimics were. We should see a bunch of treasure chests here, too."

The six soon came to a cliff, several treasure chests gathered before it.

"Seems like a risky place to stay," Kuririn said.

The treasure chests clicked open, eyes rolling to the front of their lids, and beamed. Monica transformed into a Himarra.

"We haven't seen you guys in a long time. It looks like you got new friends to help."

Kuririn and Gaspard introduced themselves, and Kuririn introduced Yamcha.

"Nice to meet you all. Need anything or just come to visit?"

"We need your help," Monica said. "We're trying to help monsters instead of kill them now."

"That's great. How are the monsters reacting?"

Monica rubbed one of her petals between two fingers. "Depends. Some are really receptive. Others, not so much. Right now, we're trying to help a King Mimic with stomatitis. He said a berry should treat it, but neither he nor the Mimics in Mount Gundor know what kind of berry it is. The Mimics think that if they give the berry to the King Mimic, they'll become King Mimics themselves. Bottom line is, we need to know which berry it is so we can either buy it from Adel or pick it off a bush or something."

The Mimics remained silent.

She slouched. "You must not know either."

"Well, we have a few berry bushes where that giant tree is."

"The Yorda tree? We'll need to head there."

"Let's run," Gokuu said. "It'll be easier than taking Kintoun." Kuririn and Yamcha nodded.

When the boys did not move and stared at Gaspard, he chuckled. He led them to Yorda's Valley. Bushes lined the edges of the valley. Multicolored berries grew on them.

"I didn't know you knew your way around here," Monica said.

"When I was a boy, my parents and I used to venture into Starlight Canyon quite a bit. Assuming that it didn't change much in the future, I took the way my parents went. We spent many days under the Yorda tree."

Her eyes softened. "I see."

Kuririn turned toward the bushes, the crunching of grass under his feet jostling Monica out of her thoughts. "Our best bet is to pick all the berries."

The six picked each berry and stuffed them into Max's and Monica's pouches, which swelled and caused them to wobble with each step. Upon finishing, they climbed onto Kintoun and returned to the Mimics and Balloon monsters in Mount Gundor.

"How did living with the enemy for a little while go?" Kuririn said to the Balloon monsters as he and the remainder of the six gave the Mimics one berry each.

The Mimics snarled. The Balloon monsters scampered backward.

"Other than their occasional growling, glaring, snickering, and cracking of knuckles, we got along with them."

Gaspard gave a Mimic his last berry. However, Max, Gokuu, and Kuririn carried three additional berries, yet there were eight Mimics. The Mimics faced one another.

"I deserve them. I eat the most treasure, and I'm the biggest out of all of you."

"Who cares about size?"

"The King Mimic does."

"All right," Gaspard said. The Mimics quieted.

"Wow," Monica whispered to the remainder of the group. "He got them to calm down with just two words."

Yamcha rolled his eyes. "We don't know if he has yet. They just want to see what he's about to say. If he says the right thing, they'll stay calm. If they don't, we know what'll happen." He flexed his muscles.

"We'll figure everything out when we get to the King Mimic," Gaspard said. "For now, we'll keep the extras."

The Mimics grumbled their agreements, and Max pushed the berries into his pouch. The Mimics followed them to the King Mimic. The King Mimic creaked upright, cringing.

"This illness must be quite strong if even you're affected by it," a Mimic said. A Balloon monster snorted lightly.

"It is, which is why I'm glad you all got some berries for me." The King Mimic panted for several seconds. "Thank you."

A Mimic extended its arm. "Try mine first, Your Highness."

Another Mimic shoved the Mimic which had spoken sideways. "No, mine."

The Mimics thrust one another from the King Mimic, presenting their berries.

Monica ruffled her petals. "Geez. Is this what the people in my kingdom would do to become king?"

"Stop, idiots! You're making my head hurt now."

The Mimics froze, hands poised to shove others of their kind.

"I'll try each of yours. Berries usually kick in right away. If the pain doesn't go away, then I'll know that that's not the right berry. Now…" It covered its eye using one hand and used its remaining hand to point at a Mimic. It uncovered its eye. "You, give me your berry."

The Mimic hopped to the King Mimic and gave the Mimic its Stone Berry. The King Mimic snatched it and then swiped it into its mouth. A few seconds later, the King Mimic said, "Doesn't work."

The Mimic cursed between gritted teeth and returned to the group of Mimics.

One by one, the Mimics gave the King Mimic their berries, and the King Mimic ate them. None eased the King Mimic's pain. Once the last Mimic had given its berry to the King Mimic, the Mimics turned to the six.

"They have three more."

"Only three."

The Mimics charged toward the six, roaring, smoke surging behind them. The Balloon monsters leaped sideways.

"Thanks a lot," Yamcha said. "You guys are so helpful."

Kuririn ran to Max, opened his pouch, and rummaged inside. "Just throw them the berries. They don't need to fight us."

Gokuu withdrew a Heart-throb Cherry, a Gooey Peach, and a Mellow Banana from Monica's pouch, which was strapped around her green waist.

The King Mimic scrunched its face. "Mellow Bananas make me thirsty."

"Those aren't berries." Kuririn continued to dig inside Max's pouch. "C'mon, buddy, even you should know what berries look like."

"I do, but they're the only eatable things I can find in here." Gokuu threw the cherry and peach to the Mimics. The Mimics clustered around them, punching, tackling, headbutting one another.

"Looks like they don't know the difference between berries and other fruit," Monica said.

Gokuu held the Mellow Banana toward the King Mimic. "Why don'tcha try this, too, just in case?"

The King Mimic took the Mellow Banana. "Being thirsty is much better than having a stomachache." It swiped the Mellow Banana in its mouth and gulped. A grin spread on its face. It bolted upright. "It's gone."

The Mimics stopped, one pulling another's arm, one tugging another's eyelid, one gripping another's tongue. The group stared, slack-jawed, at the King Mimic and Gokuu.

"Why?" a Mimic said.

"Since none of you were able to get me the berry, I'll crown this little human king of the Mimics instead." The King Mimic belched a saliva-covered golden crown from its mouth. He placed the crown onto Gokuu's head, Monica arching her body away from the crown, wrinkling her face. Gokuu wiped the drool from his temples. "In addition to me, you all will have to obey him."

The Mimics scowled at Gokuu, slithering toward him.

"Gokuu, order them not to attack us," Monica said.

He wound up his arm. "But I could use a good fight."

"Gokuu."

He slumped. "Okay. I order you guys to not attack us."

"And if you do"—The King Mimic pounded a fist into the palm of its hand, some Mimics shuffling backward—"you'll have me to deal with."

The Mimics placed their hands onto the ground, bowing their heads. "Yes, Your Highness. We will not attack you or your friends."

Monica exhaled. "Now, Gokuu, ask them if they have a rope to get to the next floor."

Gokuu did so. One Mimic hopped before Gokuu and vomited a rope dripping with saliva, which Gokuu took.

Kuririn looked the rope up and down. "And we have to slide down that."

Gaspard smirked at Kuririn. "Better than having loose pants."

Pink tinted Kuririn's cheeks. "Right. Let's go to the next floor." He wiped his brow. "I pray it's our last."


	61. Knighting

**Chapter Sixty-one: Knighting**

The gold—or golden—crown rested atop Gokuu's head. Yamcha plucked it and turned it over in his hands. Its hue reflected off the walls, and hardened lava specked it. He bit the crown. It did not bend. He sighed and replaced it upon Gokuu's head.

They reached Monica's shell. Before Kuririn could run to the shell, Gaspard picked it up and gave it to Monica, who thanked him, slipping its straps over her shoulders. Kuririn growled softly.

"I feel you," Yamcha said.

When the six arrived at the floor's exit, Gaspard shifted onto his toes and fastened the saliva-covered rope around the stalactite. He slid down, slobber sticking to his legs, arms, torso. As soon as the ground entered his vision, he dropped. He shook his hands, and saliva pattered to the ground.

Above him, Yamcha crossed his arms, raising a brow. "He's just our hero, isn't he?"

"We can't deny that he's been extremely helpful to us so far," Kuririn said. "I wonder how long he'll stick around."

"Probably for a while," Monica said as Max clung to the rope. "He doesn't have any other place to go."

"He could help you and Max against Griffon," Gokuu said. "He probably knows how Griffon fights."

"That's a good point. We'll see what happens when we get to Griffon's palace."

Beside Gaspard, Max's feet tapped.

"Did you get wet at all?" Gaspard said.

Max smiled faintly. "I didn't. You wiped away pretty much all of that Mimic's saliva."

"I'm glad."

The remainder of the six landed beside Max and Gaspard, and they continued through Mount Gundor.

Yamcha flicked sweat into the lava. A bubble popped. "It's been getting hotter and hotter."

Kuririn coughed. "It doesn't look like we're any closer to the end, other than the intensifying heat."

"We shouldn't be too far now." Monica panted. "When the heat becomes almost unbearable like this, it means we're close to the end." She ran a hand over her face, and it became drenched in sweat. "By the way, Gaspard, while you were sliding on the rope, we were wondering what Griffon's fighting style is like, assuming that the thing inside him doesn't pop out. Do you know?"

"Unfortunately, no. As far as I know, he's never fought any of his lackeys or the monsters in his palace."

The six arrived at a clearing. Two Lava Bats flew around each other, wings slapping the other's as they passed.

"It looks like they're sparring." Gokuu cracked his knuckles. "Maybe there's a strong monster around."

The Lava Bats faced the six and grinned, baring their fangs. Yamcha cringed.

"We've heard about you all. You guys have been doing some great things for the monsters."

Kuririn rubbed his top lip. "Of course."

"I think an Alexander has the rope to get to the next area. No monsters live down there, though. There's a river of lava blocking the way to the clearing, so there's not much space. And it's way too hot."

He gulped. "If even the monsters don't like it down there, then we won't fare much better. What does an Alexander look like?"

"It's silver, has only a head and no eyes, and its sword and shield float."

Kuririn's eyes brightened. "I know what you're talking about. Thank you."

As the six passed through an adjoining passageway, Kuririn repeated the conversation to Max, Monica, and Yamcha.

"Seems way too easy," Monica said.

"The monsters earlier did say that all monsters have their differing opinions of humans." Gaspard smirked. "Word of our good deeds must be spreading."

Gokuu adjusted his crown so that it was no longer lopsided upon his head. "Besides, I'm one of the kings of the Mimics now. The monsters here should respect me. At least, the Mimics should."

"We helped an Alexander in one of the last floors, too," Kuririn said. "It should just give us the rope."

Monica and Gaspard skidded to stops, and the boys followed suit, Kuririn nearly swerving into the wall.

"There are Bone Lords ahead." Monica scratched the side of her face using one finger. "Gaspard and I kinda messed up on one floor, and now they want us to be their servants."

Kuririn narrowed his eyes. _Gaspard's probably the only one who 'messed up.'_

"What do you mean 'servants'?" Gokuu said.

"Anytime we see a Bone Lord, we might have to give it a manicure and pedicure. That doesn't sound too bad, but they might pile on the chores and make us massage them or something." She furrowed her brows. "Can they even feel massages?"

"If they can't, they'll probably make us polish their bones." Gaspard squinted. "By the looks of them, that would take quite a while."

"In that case, let's find a way around them."

"I didn't see any other hallways," Max said. Gokuu shook his head. "I think this is the only way to the exit, which might be why they're standing there in the first place."

She groaned. "No choice but to go, then."

The six met the Bone Lords, whose bones lit up.

"Finally, you've come. Wonderful." One reached inside the space surrounding its head and withdrew a black bottle. "You can polish our bones." It stretched, and its bones rattled. "Remember, you have to do this if you don't want to kill us, you fleshie pacifists."

Gaspard grinned faintly. "I was right."

"Is that really something you should be celebrating?" Yamcha muttered, Monica caressing her forehead.

Kuririn sighed. "Might as well get started." He pulled the stopper from the bottle. A putrid odor wafted out, and the remainder of the six scrunched their faces.

Gokuu pinched his nose. "What is that made of?"

"You don't wanna know."

Kuririn fisted his hips. "Good thing I don't have a nose."

Max, Monica, and Gaspard whipped their heads toward him. Max's and Monica's jaws dropped, and Gaspard pursed his lips.

"You sure don't," Monica said. "I never even noticed."

"I'm sorta scared to ask, but why?" Max said.

"Genetic."

"Your mom or dad didn't have a nose, either?" Monica said.

"My father didn't."

"How?" She leaned onto her right foot. "You're not a different kind of species like Gokuu, are you? Did you have a tail?"

Gokuu glared. "I'm human, guys."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm human, too," Kuririn said. "I've never had a tail."

"Then, but, how does that happen?"

A Bone Lord cleared its throat. "Excuse me, but you're supposed to be polishing our bones, not marveling at the fact that that bald fleshie doesn't have a nose."

Kuririn peered at the ink-like liquid inside, Max and Monica gawking at him. "What are we supposed to polish with?"

A Bone Lord opened its mouth. Six large paintbrushes, five bottles of ink, a leaf of paper, and three paper clips spilled onto the ground. Yellow ooze doused the items, sizzling, the paper bursting into flame. The Bone Lord squelched the flame using its foot.

"Nice." Monica's face had grown ashen. "Do all monsters keep their things in their stomachs?"

"They don't have any pockets, princess," Gaspard said. "Where do you expect them to put their belongings?"

"Someplace…better."

Yamcha turned toward Gaspard. "You got us into this. You do it."

"Don't be selfish, Yamcha." Monica chewed her lip. "We all have to pitch in."

Gokuu took a paintbrush and bottle. The remainder of the six followed suit, and they ran the ink-dripping bristles up and down the Bone Lord's bones.

"We should've killed them," Yamcha said. Kuririn nodded.

"It's not that bad," Max said. "I've never polished anything before."

"Me neither, and I would've liked to keep it that way."

Once their faces reflected in the bones, the six returned the paintbrushes and ink. The bones gleamed in the walls' light.

"Thank you. We've heard you need ropes to get from one floor to the next. We can lead you to the Alexander who has it."

Kuririn snorted. "We could've done that in less time."

The six followed the Bone Lords through passageways until reaching a clearing. A Chimera stood in the middle, an Alexander erect upon its back. The Alexander released a war cry. The Chimera bucked upward, and the Alexander tumbled down the Chimera's back, onto the ground. The Alexander scrambled upright and hopped to its spot upon the Chimera's back.

"There are other Alexanders on this floor," a Bone Lord said, "but he's the only one who has the rope." It rubbed its hands. "I'm sure the ladies toward the north would like to see our shiny bones. Thank you." The Bone Lords left the clearing.

Monica twitched. "That's why we spent all those hours…"

"Meet my mighty steed," the Alexander said. The Chimera thrashed. The Alexander grabbed at the Chimera's fur, and the Chimera's thrash quickened.

Kuririn rolled a finger in his ear. "Looks more like an abusive steed."

"Like my steed, I am mighty as well." The Alexander whisked a rope from behind its head and then lassoed the air. "To obtain this rope, you must defeat me and my mighty steed. Knocking us unconscious is all that is needed. And only one of you can fight us because six on two isn't fair."

"Two on one isn't fair," Gokuu said.

"Today it is. Therefore, like I said, only one of you can fight us in this coliseum."

"Why today and not any other day?"

"Because it's a holiday. I can't remember which one, but it's one in which the monsters get to fight the humans in groups."

"Sounds like a normal day to me." Kuririn summarized the conversation to the remainder of the six.

"It'd probably be best if someone with a sword fought them," Gaspard said. "After all, that monster has a sword and a shield. I'll fight."

"Are you sure, Gaspard?" Monica said. Yamcha rolled his eyes.

"Yes. The bird monster looks soft, so I should be able to knock it unconscious quickly. This shouldn't be much trouble at all."

"Okay. Good luck, and be careful."

"I know how to be careful more than most." Gaspard slashed, sending a whistle throughout the clearing. "I am your opponent."

The Chimera kicked its legs. The Alexander came inches within the edge of the Chimera and tightened its grip on its fur, its head whitening.

"You?" The Alexander's voice cracked. "You're the most deadly looking of the bunch. I was hoping it'd be that bald human. He doesn't look very threatening at all."

Kuririn sagged. "Do I really?"

"But enough with the weak chat. Let us comm—come on, comm…" It raised its sword. "_Start _this battle."

The Chimera stomped toward Gaspard. He vaulted overhead and stabbed the skin between its horns. It threw its head back and forth. He tightened his grip on his hilt, body flopping in the air.

The Chimera slammed its head onto the ground, denting it and smacking Gaspard upon the ground. It lifted its head. Gaspard's eyes had hazed.

Max cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hang in there, Gaspard."

"Yeah, you can do it," Gokuu said.

Gaspard blinked twice, and his eyes returned to sharpness. The Chimera dunked its head toward the ground. He jumped onto its neck.

The Chimera's head smashed the ground, deepening the dent into a crater. It straightened and stared at the wall, body motionless, eyes clouded.

Yamcha rapped his fingers upon his forearm. "Not a very smart bird monster this time."

Gaspard's blade clashed against the Alexander's shield. He released the blade and swung downward. The Alexander butted his blade. Gaspard thrust, forcing the Alexander backward.

It slashed, and Gaspard backflipped. The Alexander floated forward haphazardly, attempting to regain its balance from the loss of Gaspard's weight. Its blade jabbed the Chimera. The Chimera's eyes sparked, and it roared, rearing upward. Gaspard and the Alexander fell and tumbled toward the Chimera's tail. The Chimera lowered itself to the ground. They rolled forward.

The Chimera jerked its backside. Gaspard and the Alexander were tossed into the air, the Alexander flailing and screaming. The Chimera kicked Gaspard into the wall, and sheets of debris poured onto him.

Using his feet, Gaspard pushed himself onto the ground. The Chimera headbutted his chest, its horns scraping his sides, and he flew into the wall, which scalded his back. The Chimera drew back its head.

He focused his energy to his hand, and a blue orb appeared within. He shot. The orb exploded on the Chimera's head. It screeched, chucking its head sideways to cut through the enveloping smoke.

Gaspard slid onto the ground, jolting his body. He winced.

The war cry came from his right. He faced the charging Alexander, compiling energy into his hand. He released the orb, and it ruptured on the Alexander.

It hollered, blueness shadowing its head. It rammed a finger toward Gaspard. "Long-range attacks aren't fair. I hereby ban them from this fight. Understand?"

"Understood."

The smoke had dissipated, and the Chimera snarled.

He leaped toward the Chimera, and it drove its head into his stomach. He croaked as his flight increased in speed. On the ground, he landed on his hands and then flipped onto his feet, inhaling between clenched teeth. His hands reddened and swelled, billowing with smoke. He tried to steady his grip on his hilt; pain shot through his hands, up his arm, and he fumbled.

He galloped sideways, blade sweeping the Chimera's legs. The Chimera shrieked and buried one of its talons into Gaspard's chest. He flew backward, bounded onto his feet, and skidded to a stop, shoes squeaking. Blood sprouted on his chest.

The Alexander opened its red-glowing mouth and exhaled a fireball. Gaspard swayed. The fireball plopped into the lava at the edge of the clearing and mixed within.

"I thought you said no long-range attacks," Gaspard said.

"You have a penalty because you used two, which means that I get to use two. I've already used one, so I have one more."

Yamcha combed his fingers through his hair. "We could've been done ages ago and gone to the next floor. I appreciate Gaspard's willingness to sacrifice himself, but he's slow."

"You didn't even volunteer," Monica said.

He shrunk. "I, well, yes, but my point still stands. We could've saved Max's mother ages ago."

"We still can," Kuririn said. "The five of us can go in and take those monsters down."

"That's against the rules," Gokuu said.

"Do you really care about rules at a time like this?"

"Gaspard knows that we have to save Elena and the west quickly," Monica said. "I'm sure he's doing his best and trying to defeat them as quickly as possible."

Yamcha placed a hand upon his chin. "Unless Griffon's telling him to slow us down."

"If Griffon was still in the picture, we would've been dead by now."

"Yeah. Maybe."

Gaspard's and the Alexander's blades clashed, sparks showering. Gaspard glanced at the Alexander's body, which consisted solely of a head. He released his sword, and the Alexander floated forward, its blade squealing on the ground.

Gaspard gripped the hilt with his remaining hand and clanked his blade upon the Alexander's head. It yelped.

The Chimera hopped and flapped its wings. Needles emerged. The gust of wind caused Gaspard to stagger sideways, a needle poking his arm. His blade scratched Alexander's head as he fell on his side. He sprung onto his feet and swiveled around to face the Alexander, which rubbed its head using its sword's hilt, and the charging Chimera.

_Those wings are going to be troublesome._

He dashed to the Chimera's side and pounced onto its back, plunging his blade. The Chimera beat its wings, pounded the ground using its talons, its vision flashing red. It tilted upward.

Gaspard flinched. The urge to release his throbbing hand from his sword's hilt nearly overwhelmed his body. He latched his remaining hand upon it, grounding his feet into the Chimera's flesh.

The Alexander hacked a fireball. The angle at which he hovered, his grip on his sword, and his shell prevented him from swaying as far as necessary. The fireball exploded on his torso, and his clothes erupted in flames. Gaspard released his sword, fell, and rolled down the Chimera's back, scorching it and snuffing out the flames. Chunks of its fur pelted the ground and burned into ashes.

When he was inches from the ground, Gaspard grabbed the Chimera's tail. The Chimera grinded its feet onto the ground and, before its tail slapped the ground, Gaspard clambered to its backside. He gripped a patch of its fur and hoisted himself onto his feet. His sword was embedded in the middle of the Chimera's back.

The Alexander jumped before Gaspard's sword, raising its own. "Don't move, my trusty steed."

The Chimera stilled.

Gaspard began to flip over the Alexander. When he hovered above it, it punched its blade into his throbbing, swollen hand.

Spots blotched Gaspard's vision, pain piercing his arm and spreading throughout his body. He fell near his sword. Using his other hand, he reached toward the hilt. The Alexander slashed his blackened back. Pressure ailed his eyelids. He seized his hilt.

The Alexander stabbed the hand that held the hilt, and Gaspard stumbled upright, ignoring his legs' begging for him to collapse and rest. He kicked the Alexander's teeth, which caved in as his foot passed into its mouth and jabbed its uvula.

Vomit was dumped onto Gaspard, the Alexander pulling its blade out of Gaspard's hand. Gaspard drew the sword.

The vomit touched the Chimera. The Chimera howled and bucked. Gaspard and the Alexander blundered to the ground and then bolted onto their feet, smoke emanating from their sides. The Chimera kicked Gaspard toward the Alexander, which raised its shield before its body.

Gaspard's expression hardened. He concentrated on the shield, the Alexander's body. He briefly wondered how it could see without eyes. He pushed the thought away.

When he neared it, Gaspard swung his sword downward. The blade clinked on the Alexander's shield, and he thrust his legs upon its head, wincing at the pain gushing through them.

"Gah?" The Alexander's mouth hung open.

Gaspard pushed, knocking the Alexander facedown. Its weapons clattered on the ground and slid near the Chimera. He snatched the rope before it reached the ground and stuffed it into his pocket.

The Chimera flapped its wings. The gust felled Gaspard. He stood, whirled to face the Chimera.

Gaspard leaped toward the Chimera's head. The Chimera bounced toward Gaspard. It hovered. Gaspard's eyes jutted.

The Chimera stomped on Gaspard, shoving him onto his back. The ground seared his clothes, the heat nearing his skin. He writhed, but its talons pinned him.

Gaspard repeatedly slashed its talons. It opened its mouth, and a ball of saliva splashed on Gaspard's face. He did not feel it; the ground had begun to char his back.

A blue orb flickered within his hand.

The Chimera screeched. The five covered their ears.

"Holy crap," Kuririn said.

Gokuu shut his eyes. "My ears!"

The orb's size exceeded that of Gaspard's hand. He shot.

The orb's explosion covered the Chimera's head. Fur dropped onto the ground, and it thumped backward, its screech heightening. Gaspard clapped his hands onto his ears, pushing himself to his feet. Monica gasped, and he looked at her. She pointed to his back and chest. He smiled and watched the Chimera.

The explosion subsided. The Chimera's face had blackened, smoke rising. It belched, puffing smoke. It leaned forward. Gaspard stepped back twice. The Chimera fell, its face at his feet.

"You used long-range attacks twice. That means I had two that I could use, and that was one of them."

The five, Monica in front, ran to him, Max withdrawing two jars of medicine from his pouch. "This should be enough for your back and your hand."

His scarlet, swollen hand glistened. Slits from the Alexander's and Chimera's stabbings dotted it.

"Thanks for getting the rope for us, Gaspard, sir," Kuririn said as Max rubbed the medicine on Gaspard's wounds.

The pain covering his body subsided. "It was nothing."

Green glowed upon Max's Digi Hammer and Monica's Claymore and Destruction Brassard. Max grinned. "They're ready to be built up again."

The lights disappeared. Max's Digi Hammer had enlarged into another hammer. Broad red stripes lined its dark blue body, spikes jutting at its edges. Max clasped the thin, brown handle and stumbled. His eyes widened at the Heavy Hammer.

Monica's Claymore had become a bone-shaped blade, and a red strip ran down its hilt. She grabbed the Cross Heinder's green hilt and slashed. Her smile broadened.

Her Satan Brassard's band was thin, yet a large, horned, sneering head fronted it. She frowned. _I hope it's as strong as it is ugly. _

Gaspard swept dirt from his clothing. "Thank you for the medicine, Max."

"No problem."

"Now, shall we go to Mount Gundor's next floor? Max's mother is in trouble, after all."

Max's gratefulness lessened. "Yeah. Let's go."


	62. Two who Honor their Mothers

**Chapter Sixty-two: Two who Honor their Mothers**

Gaspard grasped his churning stomach.

"Gaspard, are you okay?" Monica's face had reddened alongside her teammates. Sweat pasted her bangs to her forehead, and she carried a steaming bottle of water. Drinking from it no longer provided relief but was the only drinkable liquid they had.

"I'm fine, princess." He wheezed. "It's only the heat." He tightened his clutch.

The six arrived at Mount Gundor's mouth. Before them fluxed a river of lava, and cracks in the wall lining it streamed magma.

"This must be the mouth." Max pulled a miniature Fire Horn from his pouch. He pushed the top of the three buttons near the mouthpiece, and it expanded into its full size. He tilted it, cupping his mouth around the mouthpiece. He drew from it. "Is there anything specific that I need to do?"

Monica shook her head. "Just blow."

Max inserted the mouthpiece once more, arching his fingers over the keys. He blew and pushed each button, the horn's sound deeper than the Trumpet Gun's. Bubbles popped, and the lava combed against the walls, revealing a walkway.

"Wow," Kuririn said.

"Who knew that lava was alive?" Gokuu said.

Max hung his mouth. He dug out his camera and snapped several photos of the spreading lava. "I wish there was some sort of recording device I could use instead."

Before Monica could speak, he fisted the palm of his hand. "I could invent it. But what could I use? A camera, obviously, but what else?"

"Focus, Max," Monica said. "This is the last floor in Mount Gundor. After we get the Geostone, if there is a Geostone, we can save your mother with Paznos."

Max's eyes sharpened. "Right. One more photo, though." He clicked the shutter, photographing the orange-lit road.

The six entered the clearing. Similarly to the cracks above the river of lava, holes in the wall poured magma into a pool ground around the clearing. The battleship lay in heaps near the corner, fire jetting from its broken pieces.

"Whoa," Kuririn said. "I don't think you could've survived if you had stayed on there, Gaspard, sir."

"Perhaps not."

"Let's spread out," Monica said.

The six split to one part of the wall, craning their necks to examine each part.

"This whole wall looks like a giant Geostone," Gokuu said. "How are we supposed to tell it apart?"

"We've never seen giant Geostones before, Gokuu," Monica said. "Where did you get that from?"

"I got it from looking at this wall. Do giant Geostones exist?"

She shrugged and then remembered that his back faced her. "If they did, we'd have a hard time fitting them into the reactor."

Gaspard eyed each of the six, all of whom squinted at the walls.

"I don't think any Geostones are here," Kuririn said.

Monica placed a hand on her hip. "We haven't looked for that long, Kuririn."

"He just wants to get out of this hellhole, like me." Yamcha stretched. "Damn, this place is hotter than my desert."

"Guys, be quiet and _look_."

Gaspard sighed silently, slipping his shell's straps off his shoulders and sitting it on the ground, smoke clouding it. He gripped his sword's hilt. His sweaty hand slipped, and he clamped it.

"Anyone found anything yet?" Monica said.

A resounding "No" came from the boys and Gaspard, who stopped behind Monica.

She looked behind an outcrop of boulders. "Did you find something, Gaspard?"

Gaspard threw his sword toward her chest, his blade shrieking.

"Monica, watch out!"

Kuririn rammed into Gaspard. Monica turned, and he sliced her side. Gaspard collided with the ground, Kuririn pinning his left arm and seizing his blade. Blood dripped from Kuririn's hand.

"Gaspard?" Her voice sounded windy.

The ground charred Gaspard's back, yet he focused on Monica's eyes.

"Why? I thought I, I thought we…"

"Emperor's orders."

Gokuu dug his nails into his hand. He charged to Gaspard, Max and Yamcha on his heels. Kuririn resisted this urge to pound Gaspard's head. If he moved, Gaspard would, most likely, stab Monica.

Monica's eyes became glassy. "But, I, I thought we made an agreement." Her voice broke at the last word. "We would protect you, and nothing would happen. And you could return to the future or stay here, and everything would be okay."

"You should know more than anyone, princess."

Max walked nearer to Gaspard, crimson light flickering upon his face. "You're still after our Atlamillia, then. Maybe Gokuu's Dragonball, too." He pulled out his Digi Hammer and Steal Gun. "Even after everything that's happened, you're still willing to destroy the world."

Kuririn loosed Gaspard and stood between him and Monica. She stared through him.

"And you tricked Monica. She believed in you. She tried her best to help. I bet that you'll never be finished. If we can't defeat you, you'll go after my mother next. Even my mother."

Gaspard's eyes knifed. "Even your mother…" He stalked toward Max. "Yes, _even your mother_, boy, because they tortured mine all because I wasn't close enough to a human in their narrow eyes."

He stopped, chest nearly touching Max's head. Veins pulsed on their foreheads, their necks, their faces the same shade of scarlet.

Max swung. Gaspard leaped sideways and hurled two orbs. Max swayed, and the orbs exploded against the wall across from them. He swept the straps off his shoulders and tossed the shell, sprinting, shooting his gun. Gaspard deflected the beams using his blade. Max ripped his hammer through the air. Gaspard drove his blade into Max's gut. Max's swing quickened.

Max crushed several bones in Gaspard's head, forcing Gaspard to release his sword and slamming him to the ground.

Max snatched Gaspard's blade and threw the sword to Gokuu, who caught it using one hand. He stood over Gaspard, his blood trickling onto Gaspard's blackening side. Gaspard staggered onto his feet, blackness covering half his body, and smeared blood from his forehead onto the palm of his hand.

Kuririn glanced at Monica. She remained motionless.

The world dimmed, and blood threatened to clog Gaspard's ears. The beams tore toward him, and he jerked, dodging each. The pain in his back and sides intensified. He flinched.

Max lashed in all directions, and Gaspard backed away, the hammer breaking air. Max smashed his foot onto Gaspard's knee. Gaspard's legs buckled, and he palmed an orb onto Max's face. Max's eyes watered.

Max struck the top of Gaspard's head. Bones ruptured. Gaspard collapsed, tears cutting through blood.

Gaspard chewed his lip. Skin had fallen from his back and side, leaving solely flesh. He chuckled. "You want to protect your mother? How naïve."

Max aimed his gun at Gaspard's heart.

"_Go ahead _and shoot me! Unlike you all…"

Max's eyes had erupted in fury. Kuririn stood before Monica, and Gokuu and Yamcha readied themselves.

Max moved his finger.

"Gaspard."

The boys looked at Monica, her sword sheathed.

"You keep hinting that something happened to your mother. I'm sorry."

Kuririn widened his eyes. "What?" He swiveled around. "Why do you keep apologizing, Monica? Why do you keep forgiving him? He's a monster."

"No, he's not."

Kuririn grit his teeth, veins bulging from his fists. "I can't do this anymore." He threw his shell near the battleship, its straps snapping. He vanished and reappeared in midair. He punched Gaspard's neck. Blood coated Kuririn's face. He thrust his foot toward Gaspard's face. Gaspard shut his eyes, and new pain blazed through him.

"Stop, Kuririn!"

Kuririn pummeled his chest, stomach, neck. "He's done too much. If he hasn't changed now, he never will. I thought you, Monica, of all people, would understand that."

Monica launched multiple fireballs. Kuririn jumped sideways. The fireballs inched over Gaspard, searing his body further, and rapped the walls. He dashed to Gaspard. Monica slid between them, raising her Cross Heinder.

"Stop."

Kuririn panted. Max had tracked Gaspard using his gun.

Gaspard cackled. "You look just like they did when they looked at her."

Max scowled. "You're still talking."

He laughed, voice hoarse. His laugh ended abruptly, and he twisted his mouth into a sneer. "You're beginning to feel the same way I do."

"Don't compare us to you."

He grinned. "We're the same, you and I."

"We're not."

"You're saying that with a gun to my heart."

Max did not change his expression. "You kill because you hate others, but we kill only to save others."

"You and I, _Max,_ we want to protect our mothers."

Max crimped his toes at his name. "You're not protecting anything. You never were."

He stared at Max. He sunk, casting his eyes downward. "Yes, I didn't do anything Mother asked. What way is that to honor her?"

He closed his eyes. "During my assassinations, I remembered those scum making us think that they genuinely liked us. My father was a changeling, and their fear kept them from looking at him like they did my mother and I after his passing. If I could look at people with that fakeness, my slayings would become much easier.

"I was thirteen when I killed a boy around my age. When his 'normal' parents died, the villagers supported him emotionally and physically with food. When my father died, the villagers had the decency to let us have a funeral for him. My mother and I were the only ones who attended. I asked my mother why, and she smiled and said that this funeral was just for us. The villagers would have their own funeral later. That's when I realized..."

He hacked, and blood splattered on the ground, droplets splashing Max's shoes. He had lowered his aim slightly.

"After that, they chased us out of the village." He clasped the air. "The stress, the exhaustion from always being on the road caused Mother to become terribly ill. The memory of her death is what I use for motivation, and I only remember her request while I'm plunging my blade into my next victim. She told me to spend my life searching for something to protect, that nothing good could ever come out of hatred."

Max dropped his left hand to his side.

"Is that what makes you so strong, that desire to protect others? Is that why, even though I've trained for many years as an assassin, I couldn't defeat any of you? I want that kind of strength, too, the same strength my mother had." He smiled faintly. "But more than that, I want to cherish her. Please, show me more. Once I learn all I can, maybe I can return to the future and protect others."

Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha relaxed.

Gokuu gave Gaspard his sword. Gaspard gawked. "You've done a great job protecting us so far. I don't think we need to show you anything."

"You can still stay with us, Gaspard," Max said. "I'm sure your mother'd be really proud if you protected the whole world."

"I'm sure." Gaspard wiped his eyes, his knuckles taking the blood.

Pain shot through his head. He keeled onto his side, a purple cloud billowing around him.

"I gave you an order, Gaspard, and you refuse to fulfill it, even if it costs you your life. For that, I will make you do as I command."

Monica looked at the opening above, as did the boys. "That's Griffon's voice."

Gokuu hardened his expression. "He's still hiding in the past."

"Did he tell Gaspard, or was it that thing inside him?"

Red, jagged wings burst from Gaspard's back. His head elongated alongside his horns and his red, glowing body. He blinked, eyes shining like sapphires. His head nearly jutted from the volcano's opening, teeth and nails sharpening into fangs and claws. Specks of lava from his back battered the ground, and shimmering lava separated his ribs.

The flame demon swiped at the five, and they jumped backward.

Max kept his arms at his side. "There has to be a way we can save him."

"Gaspard, can you hear me?" Monica said.

The demon slashed twice. The five scrambled, the gale sinking Max's cap into the lava.

"It's me, Monica. You just told us that you were going to protect instead of attack."

The demon quaked the ground with each step.

"Please, Gaspard, please recognize me, my voice, any of us."

The demon beat its wings so that it hovered above them. It snorted and then blew fireballs. The five sprinted, the fireballs' explosions nearly encompassing the width of the clearing. Heat and debris bounded off them.

"Don't you remember your mother's request?"

The demon plummeted toward Monica, outstretching its arm. The boys dove toward the hand, Monica rushing from it. The demon clenched her, and the boys crumpled against its arm.

Kuririn's head broke into a throb, he, Max, Gokuu, and Yamcha stumbling into landings. "Damn it."

The demon held Monica to its face. It opened its mouth, lava stretching between the roof and its tongue. Its breath burned her.

"Gaspard, please recognize something. Griffon couldn't have taken you over completely. You're not a machine."

The demon roared, buffeting her. She scrunched her eyes.

Redness radiated within the demon's mouth, magnifying the heat. She slumped.

She gathered energy, and a purple aura domed her. She surged it. The demon dropped her. Gokuu caught Monica and then placed her onto the ground. She fixed her eyes upon the demon.

The demon raised its arms, howling. The five covered their ears.

It leaped into the pool of magma, and the five raced from the hurtling lava. The lava exploded inches from Monica, a pellet coloring her arm maroon. She scrubbed medicine onto it, the maroon being replaced with her complexion.

The demon spewed fireballs. They merged with the ground, bullets chasing the five. One needled Monica's back. She tripped but scuttled upright, continuing. The demon sloshed through the pool, dumping lava near the five.

Max shot. The demon did not wince, nor did the beams mark.

"We'll have to get closer." Yamcha led them nearer. The demon leaped, lava flooding off its body, and he and his teammates stopped. It landed feet from the five. A bead of lava plopped onto Max's forehead. He yelped, pivoted, and followed his teammates. The demon reached, carving its toenails into Max's back and left leg. He hollered, slowing his run to a limp.

Gokuu leaped to Max and hoisted him onto his back. Gokuu jumped toward his comrades. The demon punched Max's back. Their backs snapped, and they flew past Monica, Kuririn, and Yamcha. They tumbled on the ground. Gokuu bounced onto his feet and picked up a shaking Max, pressing him to his torso. Monica, Kuririn, and Yamcha joined them.

Gokuu healed Max's wounds, save the broken bones, using the medicine. He then healed his own. The pain lessened, but his spine remained curved.

"You guys," Gokuu said, "try to defeat him. I don't think we can move right now."

Max parted an eye. The demon strode toward them. "He's too big. We have to help the best we can."

Gokuu tightened his grip around Max's shoulders. "You can't fight like this."

"You have allies for a reason," Yamcha said. "We'll take him down."

Monica exhaled, visualizing lightning strike invisible objects. A purple orb sparked in her hand. She pegged the ball of lightning. The orb crackled in the air momentarily and then homed onto the demon's head, dissipating. Its walk did not falter.

Gokuu freed Max, and Max remained upright. He raised his hammer, and Gokuu crouched into his battle stance.

"We're fine," Max said.

Kuririn screwed his foot into the demon's cheek, flinging its neck. He landed on its shoulder, and he rapidly fisted its bruising cheek. It whipped a hand, onto which Kuririn pounced. He slipped and fell, hugging a claw. The demon lurched its hand back and forth.

"G-g-g-guys, I c-c-can't get off. Hel—" He smacked his mouth to hold the avalanche of vomit.

"Looks like we'll need your help after all." Yamcha blurred toward the demon's head. It sighed a fireball, piecing Yamcha's clothes and patching his flesh. He toppled. Gokuu slid below and caught him.

Max charged toward the demon, Monica, pressing her mouth into a thin line, behind him. The demon slammed Kuririn onto the ground and grinded him, silencing his bellow.

Max shot. Despite being feet from it, the beams did not tear its skin. He shot the demon's left wrist. It cringed but did not lax its grip. Monica chucked a lightning orb, electrocuting its wrist. Sparks spread to its hand, and it lifted it. A scalded Kuririn was sprawled, clothes dotting his body. Max hoisted him in his arms, back creaking. He ran toward Gokuu.

The demon crushed Max's back using a fist. Kuririn slammed onto the ground, Max on top, and they skidded beside Gokuu. Max staggered upright, hooking his arms under Kuririn's and heaving him onto his feet, grasping Gokuu's forearm for balance.

"You'll have to take care of him, Monica," Gokuu said. "I need to stay here and protect everyone else."

Monica quivered her lip. The demon tramped, its blue eyes beacons clashing against its scarlet bulk.

She stepped closer to the demon, and the demon stepped closer to her. She stood a foot from its toes.

The demon retracted its leg. Monica sprung, its leg cleaving air. It drew back its remaining leg. It roared questioningly and fell, flailing its legs upward, wind belting Monica.

She leaped onto its torso and then ran toward its head. The demon swat. Monica stabbed its palm and swung, pointing her legs to the opening. She pushed and rapped her feet to its chest. She drew her sword and continued.

The demon roared. Monica slid the straps off her shoulders, and the shell clashed onto its chest. It gasped.

Monica eased into a walk, gazing into its eyes. The demon snarled, foam bubbling at the corner of its mouth.

"Gaspard, please look at me."

It puffed through its nose, tousling her bangs.

"You were about to protect for your mother, remember?" Her smile trembled. "He couldn't have taken you over completely."

It sniggered.

"You have to kill him, Monica."

Monica slit her eyes, relief at Kuririn's consciousness touching her.

"It's either you or him."

"See, Gaspard?" She pointed at the boys. "You spent a lot of time with them, too. You protected all of us."

Yamcha growled. "All right, I'm gonna find a way to kill him."

"Yeah." Kuririn shrugged. "I mean, there's just, there's no other way."

"Hold on, guys," Gokuu said. "If she wants to try and talk him out of this, give her a chance to."

"This is her second try, Gokuu. Griffon's too powerful."

"Maybe she wasn't trying hard enough. And if you guys try and help her, you'll hurt yourselves even more. You might end up getting in her way."

The demon jolted upright, throwing Monica to the ground. Kuririn groaned.

She climbed to her feet, smoke rising from her back.

She jumped onto the demon's feet. She clasped the front of its ankle and jabbed the backside. It jounced its leg. She clambered up, drawing and then lunging her blade into its shin, its knee, its thigh.

She reached the demon's hip. It slapped its tail onto her back, and Monica's vision fogged. Her climb did not waver, and she fluttered her eyes to restore her sight.

The demon whipped its tail through the air. She sliced, and a quarter of its tail pelted the ground. It screeched, its tail too short to strike her.

Monica neared its chest. She became sluggish.

The demon bashed Monica using its hand, and stars blossomed in her mind's eye. She deepened her blade, heart slugging her chest.

The demon flapped its wings. The boys shielded their faces and peered between their forearms. It flew in a circle. Monica wrest her blade inside its upper stomach. She shut her eyes.

Gokuu could use his Nyoi-bo to stab one of the demon's wings. However, its quickness hindered aiming, and he could possibly jab Monica.

The demon thumped its wings slower until stilling. It whined, dropping to the ground. It nearly fell on its behind. Monica's head walloped, and the world spiraled.

She breathed deeply, the demon teetering. The dizziness passed. She shimmied sideways.

The demon volleyed its head and then glowered at Monica. It slashed, and Monica sliced downward. The demon withdrew the hand and swung the other. She chopped. It flattened her. She grunted. She panted and aimed.

It swung its hand toward her.

She softened her eyes.

The demon flicked a claw outward.

"I'm sorry, Gaspard."

She stabbed.

The demon howled, and light burst. Monica clamped her eyes, light drilling her eyelids. It washed her, bathing the clearing in swirls of particles. She fell in a pair of arms and was placed onto shaking legs.

She dropped her sword, body numb, her pants short gasps.

Gaspard lay before her, eyes dull and dilated. The boys ran to them, kneeling alongside her.

"I'm sorry, Monica."

"No. It wasn't your fault." She clenched her hands. "If I were stronger…"

Gaspard's head lolled, but he looked into Monica's eyes. "When I…assassinated…" He winced. "I thought…only hatred. This isn't your fault, Monica, Max, Gokuu. None of your faults. Don't blame yourselves. Blame him."

* * *

Griffon rubbed his eyes using the palms of his hands. "Yes. Blame me. I couldn't stand up to him."

_The Dark Element crushed him._ _"Why? You were so close...! No. Don't say anything." It released him, and he floated downward. "If you can't kill him, make Gaspard do it. Command him to kill all of them._

_Sirus coughed blood. "I can at least do that."  
_

"I'm done with you, too," Griffon said.

_Are you?_

Griffon nodded.

_I can burst out of your body, and you wouldn't survive. I could rampage around the world._

Griffon slouched. He breathed haphazardly. _Okay. What do you want me to do?_

_Kill them when they see you. That will be your last chance._

* * *

"He told me on the ship…kill them." Gaspard writhed. "If I didn't obey… There have been Soldiers who haven't obeyed. They decided to have a change of heart, like I. They…"

"We understand," Monica said.

"I told him…that I wanted to gain your trust. You'd be easier to kill. But I've come to genuinely…like…you all."

Her tears wet Gaspard's cheeks. Max curled his lips inward.

"I would've liked to continue… Can you please fulfill my wishes as well…?"

The five nodded.

"Please…finish your journey… Continue to show me the kindness…I could never show others."

The color drained from his body. He grew motionless.

Kuririn slipped his hands into his pockets. Yamcha exhaled. Max pinched his lips using his teeth, and Monica brushed her eyes. Gokuu sunk his nails into his palm, standing and looking to the ashen sky.


	63. Conflict of the Past and Future

**Chapter Sixty-three: Conflict of the Past and Future**

Gokuu hoisted Gaspard's body onto his back. "We should at least bury him."

The five trekked upward. Monica deposited her sword, hoping that the blood on her blade would not stain her sheath. Max cleaned his hammer using the unblemished patches of his overalls and then stuffed it and his gun into his pouch. Kuririn kept his hands in his pockets. Gokuu glared at the ground. Yamcha cast his eyes downward.

They ignored the monsters that greeted them, save Yamcha, who apologized. The monsters scratched their heads and raised their brows.

The five sat in a circle on the peak, Gokuu laying the body before them. Kuririn leaned his head against the boulder. Relief at the rising temperatures did not wash them.

"What happened to me?" Max studied his trigger finger. "I almost…killed someone."

"You got caught up in the heat of the moment." Yamcha shrugged. "Who wouldn't have? His trick was pretty big."

He narrowed his eyes. "I still shouldn't have done it."

"Neither should I," Monica said. "If only there was a way I could've saved him."

Gokuu gnawed his lip.

"There's nothing we can do about it at this point, guys." Yamcha stood. "Let's head back to Heim Rada and give Buruma the Geostones." He punched his palm. "That way, we can head to the future and see Paznos in action. We'll get to save your mother, Max."

Max arched his brows upward.

Yamcha sighed, his teammates clambering to their feet, Gokuu slinging the body over his shoulder.

The five ran through the mountain's winding paths, wall-jumping down the holes in which geysers propelled Magma Rocks. The path grew ashen, and they passed beneath the rocky gate that signaled their arrival in Heim Rada. Buruma, Muten Roushi, Oolong, and Puar hopped off the pots. Puar gasped and floated backward, covering his mouth. Oolong shuddered.

"You don't need to explain anything," Muten Roushi said.

Yamcha gave Buruma the Geostones. "You can fix up Heim Rada while we're in Balance Valley."

She nodded.

"Max, Monica, Kuririn."

Kuririn whipped his head to look at Muten Roushi. Max and Monica looked at him slowly.

"Why don't you all go there on the train?" He gestured toward Oolong and Puar. "We'll clear everyone out so you'll have the train to yourselves."

* * *

Smoke puffed from the Blackstone One's stacks, and it screeched into movement. Max, Monica, and Kuririn stayed in separate, empty cars from Gokuu and Yamcha. Max sat upright, fists trembling. Monica stretched on her back, resting her hand upon her forehead. Kuririn slouched, jamming his fists into his pockets.

Muten Roushi decided that keeping Dr. Dell and Gerald inside the train would be best. Dr. Dell applied a medicine he had created from the medicine Gokuu retrieved from Gron, one that could set broken bones, to Yamcha's back. Once he finished, he rubbed the medicine on Gokuu's back. Gaspard's body lolled on the bench across from them.

Gokuu curved his back. "I feel much better."

"I do, too," Yamcha said.

"I'll go heal Max and Kuririn," Dr. Dell said.

"I'll take care of Max."

They turned toward Gerald, who stood in the doorway.

Gokuu rolled off the seat. "In that case, I'll help Kuririn."

"That leaves me with Monica." Yamcha scraped his hands through his hair. "Buruma wouldn't mind, would she?"

* * *

Monica exhaled, yet her body remained rigid. She gazed out the window, the ground blurring past her. The embers from Gaspard's Fire Squall no longer rained.

She skimmed her eyes to the sliding door. Gokuu and Yamcha entered. No thoughts intruded her mind.

Yamcha placed a hand on the back of his head. "Sorry to interrupt your, uh, contemplation, but we wanted to see how you were doing."

"If you want," Gokuu said, "I can get the Dragonballs and wish for him to come back to life."

"It's not that, Gokuu. I killed him when I already caused him so much pain. It's like what he'd already gone through wasn't enough."

"Don't worry, Monica." He glowered at the floor. "We'll get our hands on Griffon soon. For now, I'm going to talk to Kuririn." He left the car.

Yamcha flicked his gaze from the floor to Monica. He sat across from her.

He scratched his chin. How could he relate?

Yamcha spread his legs farther and clasped his hands. _Too aggressive. _He twisted his ankles over each other.

"If I'm bothering you, just say the word, and I'll be out quicker than, than…" He hung his head. _Not a good sense of humor._

He reclined onto his back, crossing his arms.

"What's bothering you?"

A grin tugged at Yamcha's lips. "I'm bothered because you're bothered."

She scoffed. They lay in silence.

* * *

Gokuu stood before Kuririn. "Are you asleep?"

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep for a while."

Gokuu scooped out a handful of medicine and kneaded his back. "Maybe you'll feel better after we see Griffon."

"Maybe."

"You don't wanna talk about it?"

"I don't think you'd understand, so why not? You could be my human diary."

Gokuu opened his mouth.

"You don't need to know what a diary is. I feel crappy, obviously, but I felt that someone would die no matter what. Either Griffon would kill Gaspard, or Gaspard would kill Monica. I thought Monica was the better choice."

"So did I. After all, Monica's a princess, and Gaspard said no one liked him."

"When I think about it, we couldn't have done anything else. But we can do something about Griffon. After that, nothing like this will happen again."

"Yeah. We're almost there."

* * *

Gerald entered Max's car. Max did not move.

"Max."

Max looked up, eyes half-lidded. Gerald raised the medicine, and Max lowered himself onto his stomach. Gerald massaged the medicine into his back. His clothes were tattered, and his hat did not sit upon his head. Soot wrinkled his face.

"I almost killed someone, Father."

"I almost killed someone, too."

Max's eyes widened.

"It was when I started to train to become a marksman. I was sitting on the roof of my old home, the one I bought before I discovered gold in the mines, and I was aiming at an apple on an apple tree growing in Morton's yard. I was so focused on the apple that I didn't notice Morton leave his home to tend to his pumpkin field. I shot. The bullet grazed his left shoulder, near his heart. Not only had I completely missed that apple, but I had also nearly killed him by accident." He chuckled. "Morton hasn't grown another apple tree since."

"That's not the same."

Gerald stopped rubbing Max's back. "It's similar."

"No, Father. I was serious about killing him. It wasn't an accident."

Gerald straightened. "Did you know that you choose your emotions?"

"Huh?"

"There's a space between your current emotion and the emotion that threatens to control you. You can either feed into that emotion or remain calm." He hardened his expression. "Max, you have to choose your emotions so you can think rationally. You must resist the urge to react on impulse."

Max uncoiled his hands, the train tilting farther downward, the blueness left from Veniccio blurring into the grayness of Balance Valley's station. "I think I understand."

"Good. I'm sure you'll get your chance to choose your emotions soon. You might not perfect it the first time, and that's fine. It'll become easier."

Max smiled faintly. "Thank you, Father. I'm much better."

The train slid to a halt. He placed his hands upon his knees and pushed himself upright. "Excuse me, Father."

Gerald stepped into the aisle, and Max stepped into the station. His teammates had gathered, Gokuu holding the body in his arms. Monica cradled Gaspard's sword, and Yamcha, Gaspard's shell.

They walked into the night. The moon bathed the houses, church, Lin's cabin, and the grass in a silver shine. Wind constantly blew throughout.

Monica walked near the time gate. Gokuu rested the body feet from the edge, and he, Kuririn, and Yamcha dug a trench the length of the body.

Monica slid off the metal band clinching her hair, loosening it slightly. She took off the bottom yellow band and replaced the metal one. She set the band upon Gaspard's chest.

Gokuu plucked the crown from his head, hair sticking upward, and then rested it beside Monica's band.

Kuririn ripped a part of his belt and draped it across Gaspard's stomach.

Yamcha placed Gaspard's shell beside the body, crunching grass.

Max withdrew a wrench sticking from his pouch and laid it upon Gaspard's stomach, above Kuririn's belt.

Monica crouched beside Gaspard, pressing his sword's hilt into his hand and then curling his fingers around it.

Gokuu gripped Gaspard's ankles, Kuririn gripped his wrists, and Yamcha gripped his side. They lifted him and then eased him into the hole. Yamcha lowered the shell beside the body. Kuririn tilted the sword so that it lay across Gaspard's torso, between their objects.

Gokuu pushed the heap of dirt into the grave. He, Kuririn, and Yamcha patted it until it was smooth.

Monica took a stone from behind Lin's cabin. Max handed her his Swan club, and she engraved, "Gaspard." Below his name, she wrote, "You found it. Thank you."

* * *

The ride to Heim Rada was enveloped in silence. Max watched his surroundings outside the window, his father beside him. Monica rested her eyes, and Yamcha slept across from her. Gokuu sat across from Kuririn, who played with his fingers.

Buruma met the five before the time gate. "Ironically, there wasn't much I could do. Defeating Gaspard might have done something. Head to the future and see if Paznos is back."

The five thanked her, and Max ran inside the time gate. His Atlamillia sparked red and then lightened to white. When the light no longer pierced their eyes, the five opened them. The boys' eyes bulged.

Domes sat, blue flames flickering upon them, atop the floating fortress. Lights and bronze cylinders lined its front, flames swaying upon their bottoms. A house-like object sat in its middle, light burning upon its roof. Below the house was embedded a circular opening. It was the most complicated object the boys had seen.

"It has to be as amazing as it looks," Kuririn said, Max taking a picture.

"You bet," Monica said. "Paznos is the secret ace up the rebel army's sleeve."

Yamcha furrowed his brows. "Secret? It's huge. Not to mention it's out in the open."

She waved her hand. "Oh, never mind that. We use it to save the west and Max's mother."

"How do we get on?" Gokuu said. "I don't see stairs leading to it."

Monica stepped into the middle of the jump gate beside them. "Hold my hands."

Max and Gokuu clasped her hands, and Yamcha and Kuririn grabbed Max's and Gokuu's hands respectively.

"Paznos, bridge."

A purple column surrounded each of them, and they disappeared. They reappeared in a room resembling the operations room. A wide, red carpet was patterned with an outline that reminded Gokuu of a flower. The carpet led to a table overlooking the dark, mountainous horizon, a ring of screens, and red-suited men standing at attention to Galen Agaris. He gazed into the horizon, arms swaddled by his overcoat.

He turned toward them. "Gundorada has been completely restored thanks to you all."

"You should thank Buruma," Monica said. "You don't know her, but she's the one who did all this."

"Pass along my thanks." He cocked his head. "You all look forlorn. Did something happen?"

Kuririn slipped his hands into his pockets, he and Max avoiding Galen Agaris' eyes.

"We'd rather not say," Monica said.

"Hm. Maybe this will cheer you up." He reached inside his cloak and unsheathed a sword. Monica gasped.

One of her kingdom's blacksmiths had once asked King Raybrandt to define the perfect sword.

"You're going to make one for me, aren't you?" King Raybrandt had said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You don't have to." He caressed the chipped blade in his arms. "My father's sword is enough."

"I want to, Your Majesty. I promise that it will be the most powerful blade in Terra."

The blacksmith had traveled the world and hand-picked the finest materials. He fashioned the blade out of Damascus steel, forged both it and the hilt for several hours and then gave it to King Raybrandt.

"You can name it yourself, Your Majesty."

"I want it to be something that slices through all objects and monsters impure and unholy… Holy." He tapped his chin. "The name needs more. Your name is Daedalus, is it not?"

The blacksmith blushed. "Yes, Your Majesty, but you don't have to name it after me."

"Too late. Holy Daedalus…Blade, because I like the shape and the color of the blade. It's the most beautiful sword I've ever seen."

Its wide, thick blade, silver trimmed around it, was colored blue, the arched hilt a darker shade. In the blade's middle, a smaller, white sword pointed toward a dagger at its tip, a green diamond embedded in the middle of its own blade. Gold plated the top and bottom of the hilt, white swirls marking the ends of the handles, a green orb in its middle.

"Thank you, Daedalus. You certainly live up to the meaning of your name."

Galen Agaris lay the sword in Monica's arms. Its tallness nearly matched her own. "Raybrandt told me to give it to you should anything happen. It is imbued with great power. A normal person could never make use of it. The Great Sage, Crest, told me you've become incredibly strong during your journey, even more powerful than your father himself. I'm sure you could draw out its strength. With its blade, slay Griffon alongside your father and punish him for the kingdom's peril."

Monica held the sword before her eyes. Energy and strength coursed throughout, and her father's metallic scent filled her.

"It would be best to start our counterattack on Griffon."

Max stiffened.

Monica peered over her blade. Galen Agaris stood, relentless, intimidating. The sword sheathed at his side reinforced those qualities. If she asked him to have mercy on Sirus, he would not oblige.

"Their Golem units are right on us."

"Golems?" Gokuu said. "But we became friends with them in the past."

"Griffon enslaved them. Since he probably knows that you all have become their allies, he must have brainwashed them so you would not fight at your best." He smirked. "He must not have counted on Paznos."

"Do we really have to kill them?"

"It's the only way."

Gokuu scowled.

"I don't want to, either," Monica said. Max shook his head.

Galen Agaris faced the red-suited men. "All hands on deck. Preparing Paznos' launch."

The red-suits spread to the consoles. They concentrated on the circular screens, pushing buttons, hands blurred.

Outside, an alarm sounded. Gundorada's workers whipped their heads to Paznos. Garek clasped the fence.

"Here we go."

The handcuff-shaped cranes holding Paznos snapped open. The workers walked toward the ledge, tapping their wrenches in the palms of their hands. Max looked out the window to his left. Garek waved. Max returned the wave, gaping.

The flames underneath burned brighter, launching Paznos upward a little ways. Max and Kuririn started. Sweat rolled from Kuririn's temple to his chin. Yamcha smiled, yet trembled. Monica's breaths became shallow.

"Paznos, lift off!"

The red-suits hastened their button-pushing. An explosion burst from the burners below. Paznos flew toward the sky, quickening with the passing seconds, Kuririn's eyes growing. He shuffled closer to Gokuu, who remained still, bangs shadowing his expression.

Paznos hovered before the two moons, and its flames complimented the indigo sky. On the ground, Golems charged, smoke billowing behind them.

"They look a lot bigger than in my time," Max said.

"Like I told you and Gokuu," Monica said, "the monsters in my time are a little stronger than in yours." Her brows furrowed. "Earlier, Lord Agaris, you said that Griffon enslaved them, but when I was in his palace, a monster told me that Griffon wanted to keep monsters in their natural habitat."

"He must have changed his mind."

"How many did he take?" Gokuu's voice had deepened. His teammates looked at him, Monica's and Kuririn's eyes wide.

"We don't know. He could've taken a small number or the whole population."

A vein popped onto Gokuu's forehead.

"Ready the weapons."

"Yes, sir."

Hatches on the Paznos' front opened in succession. Cannons tilted toward the Golems. A Golem stopped and motioned toward the fortress, instructing its brethren to continue.

"Lord Agaris?" a red-suit said.

"Not yet. We have to lure them closer."

Gokuu clenched his hands and teeth.

Kuririn cupped his arm. "Relax, buddy."

Galen Agaris slashed his arm. "Fire!"

Gokuu stepped out of Kuririn's grip, pupils dilating.

Thick, blue lasers shot from the cannons, spreading at the cannons' tips and then thinning into preciseness. Each laser blasted a Golem into pieces, never exploding against the ground, a mountain, or object other than a Golem. Explosions blossomed upon the ground and then withered into nothing. A Golem's arm landed near the workshop's entrance, and a head bounced off a mountain.

When the Golems' body parts ceased to emerge, the lasers stopped. Smoke clouded the ground. Tenseness encompassed the room, and Galen Agaris kept his foot planted forward.

The smoke dissipated. No traces of the Golems remained.

Galen Agaris exhaled. Gokuu bowed his head. A red-suit ran to them, and his teammates faced him.

"Lord Agaris, Elena has arrived."

Max's heart skipped two beats. It then rammed faster.

She entered the room.

Warmth covered Max. He ran toward her, spreading his arms, the red-suits that flanked his mother inching nearer to her. Galen Agaris moved his mouth. He sped up, his mother drifting her gaze to his eyes and then mimicking his facial expression. She outstretched her arms.

He buried his head into her bosom, clamping his hands around her, and she, him. He breathed her familiar scent of grass, the air, the outside.

"Max…"

He closed his eyes, surrounding himself with her presence. His mother tightened her embrace.

Gokuu glared at the horizon. Kuririn placed his hand on his shoulder.

"That wasn't fair, Kuririn."

"I know, buddy, but there's nothing you can do about it now." He balled his hand into a fist. "Nothing you can do…" He smiled. "Let's stop sulking. There's a nice moment happening right across from us." He turned Gokuu around to face Max and Elena.

Elena gently pushed Max away to examine him, clutching his shoulders. Her expression brightened further.

"Oh, you've gotten so big." She broadened her smile. "I'm so happy to see you again."

Max's vision blurred, and he blinked. Tears flowed down his cheeks. "Me too."

Elena stared at Max a moment longer and then looked at Galen Agaris. "Sir, may I speak to you alone for a minute?"

Max continued to smile, his curiosity satiated by the sight of his mother and the warmth that nursed him.

"Of course."

"Thank you." She embraced Max, nuzzling his hair. "I'll be back in a little while, Max."

Max buried himself once more, his tears wetting her clothing. "Promise?"

"Promise."

He tore himself from her. She and Galen Agaris entered the operations room. Seeing no lower-ranking officers, Elena said, "Lord Agaris, I have a request."

"What is it?"

"When I was guarding Gerald in Palm Brinks, I promised Max I would take him to the beach when he was older." She folded her hands. "It's been eight years." She tightened her grasp upon each of her hands. "Will you allow me to spend one day with Max and Gerald?"

Galen Agaris sighed silently. "I hope you realize what you're saying, Elena. I know you're attached to them, but you must remain in the future." His frown deepened. "It pains me to say this, but your work is more important than your family."

"I know."

"Don't let this day off interfere with your work. Do you understand?"

Her lips lifted. "Yes."

He grinned. "Have fun."

They returned to Paznos. Max had remained in the same spot in which he had been when Elena left, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Gokuu scratched the side of his face. "Is he okay?"

"Better than ever," Monica said.

Elena stopped before Max.

"Mother?"

She giggled. "Yes, I'm here, Max. I promised you that I would take you to the sea."

Max's mouth hung open.

"Why don't we go there together?"

He wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Yes. Let's."


	64. The Test of Time

**Chapter Sixty-four: The Test of Time**

Monica and her comrades followed Max and Elena toward the jump gate. She forced a smile, sickness creeping into her stomach. Max needed to know, but he needed time with his mother. Perhaps he already knew. He had to already know.

His face was bright with anticipation. He had probably forgotten.

"It's good that Max can spend time with his mother before we see Griffon," Yamcha said. "Everything will probably be over after we defeat him and, well, I'm not sure what that means for her." He cocked his head. "What does that mean, Monica?"

Monica kept her eyes fixed on a star ahead. "Remember what I said before in Luna Lab?"

"You said a lot of things that day," Gokuu said. "How are we supposed to know which one?"

Yamcha slumped. "It's not hard to figure out."

"Oh. Yeah."

Kuririn pocketed his hands.

Monica smiled faintly. "I feel like we have a while to go. The Terra Fairy we saw in Veniccio told us the same thing."

"That was a long time ago. I think we're almost done."

She shrugged. "Just a feeling I have. Where _did_ that Terra Fairy go, anyway? She said she'd reward us after every dungeon we completed."

"She might see us soon," Yamcha said. "We should get a million medals for getting through Mount Gundor. It was brutal."

Max ran into the middle of the jump gate. His mother stopped beside him and took his hand. Despite being under attack in the west, her fingernails were cut to equal length and pink with health. Her soft hand warmed his own.

"Uh, Max."

Max started. "Monica?" Gokuu had gripped her hand, Kuririn had gripped Gokuu's hand, and Yamcha had gripped Kuririn's hand.

"Yes, I'm still here, and I'm hoping you're still on this planet. Since you're the one standing on the jump gate, you need to say, 'In front of the time gate' to, well, take us in front of the time gate."

Max repeated the instructions, and a purple column surrounded each of them. Blackness enveloped them, and Max felt as though he was being whipped through the air. Gundorada Workshop appeared, and he, his teammates, and Elena stood before the time gate. He ran into its middle.

Monica raised her Atlamillia. "This is my job."

Max blushed. "Right. Sorry."

"Yamcha-san," Kuririn said, Max stepping beside Elena inches from the time gate, "is Max showing us what love is like?"

"Kinda."

He snickered. "Then that's what you act like around Buruma."

"Far from it."

Monica replaced Max inside the time gate, and they returned to the past. No one sat upon the pots. Buruma and the others probably sat inside one of the houses. Humidity had spread throughout Heim Rada.

"Maybe you can take Kintoun, Mother."

"Kintoun?"

"It's a cloud that I sometimes ride on to get from place to place," Gokuu said. "If you have a pure heart, you can ride it. It's much faster than the train. Besides, you've only got a day, and it takes a long time to get from here to Veniccio on the train." He called Kintoun.

Elena stifled a gasp. A cloud emerged from the sky and stopped beside Gokuu.

Kuririn blinked at Elena. Her shoulders remained low, and a soft smile accentuated her expression. Despite seeing Kintoun for the first time, she seemed relaxed. Monica had also fought against her emotions and attempted to suppress them. Perhaps that was how they performed their jobs efficiently.

Gokuu gestured toward it. "Try and climb on."

"What happens if I don't have a pure heart?"

"You'll fall through."

"I wouldn't worry about that, though, Mother. I'm sure you have a pure heart. After all, you're helping a lot of people and saving their lives"—he shifted from side to side—"even though your own's in danger."

"You don't have to worry about me, Max. I've survived for over fifteen years." She placed her hand on Kintoun's surface, and the dry cloud cushioned it. She released a sigh she had not known she held.

Kuririn's frown deepened. Maybe she was not that skilled at holding her emotions.

"I knew it." Max jumped onto Kintoun and reached toward her. "Climb on behind me, Mother."

Elena's eyes softened. She took his hands, and he pulled her on.

"Hold on tight. This cloud goes pretty fast."

She grasped Kintoun. It bunched in her hands.

"It's okay if you fall," Gokuu said. "Kintoun'll catch you. I've fallen plenty of times, and falling on Kintoun never hurts."

Elena's shoulders lowered farther. "Thank you, Gokuu. That's reassuring."

"Kintoun, take Max and his mother to Veniccio as fast as you can."

Kintoun launched, and Elena's gasp echoed.

"I don't think you should've said that, Gokuu," Kuririn said.

"They gotta get there as quick as they can. They only have a day."

The wind lashed Elena's wincing face, and she grit her teeth. Her and Max's blurred surroundings changed from brown to blue. Saltiness lashed their nostrils. The sea expanded below them, Bon visible. The sea was clearer than in the future.

Kintoun lowered itself near the sand. Max hopped off. Elena panted, hair mussed and eyes bulged. Max's cheeks puffed.

Elena smiled wryly. "What's so funny?"

"You don't look as neat as you usually do, that's all. Can you get off?"

"Yes. Thank you." She swung her legs over Kintoun and scooted onto the sand. Kintoun spiraled upward and merged with a cloud several times its size.

"I've never seen anything like that."

"Yeah. I'd never known those kinds of things existed until I met Gokuu. Kintoun's really smart and fast. I'm glad we were able to get here so quickly." His eyes widened. "Oh, no. I forgot about Father. I promised—"

"Max, are you there?"

He nearly jumped, and Elena looked at his pouch, from which he withdrew his Help Receiver. "I'm here. Is that you, Monica?"

"Yeah. You forgot about your father, so he's heading there on the train right now. That should give you some time to catch up with your mother."

"Thanks, Monica. I'll see you and the others later." He pressed a button in its middle and then slid it in his pouch. "Father's coming here on the train. It'll take a few hours for him to get here, though."

"That's fine." Elena memorized Veniccio's details. Luna Lab had not yet manipulated the patterns of night and day, and the sun brightened the whole of the beach, lightening the sand's bronze color to golden. At night, the stars would be visible since Luna Lab's lights would not cover them. "This is the sea in the past."

"Wait 'til you see the evening sun. It's amazing."

Elena had seen the evening sun in photos but never in person. While awaiting sleep to heal her from each day, she visualized Veniccio's evening sun. It bathed all in crimson and warmed her for miles. That warmth would wrap her in slumber.

Max's footfalls jostled Elena from her memories. He sloshed into the sea. The tide washed his ankles, and Max felt like the sea guided him farther within even though he did not move.

"Come in and join me, Mother. The water feels so good."

Elena looked at her clothes and then at the sea. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She stepped in the sea, closing her eyes. The lukewarm sea soaked her clothing, and the salt caressed her ankles. She had not relaxed in the sea for nearly a decade. "The sea feels even better when you're swimming."

"But I don't know how."

"How do you feel about me teaching you?"

Max brightened two shades. "Great. I'm ready."

Elena giggled. "You're still the impatient boy I remember, always ready to try new things." She strode farther into the sea, Max following. "First, I'll teach you how to float. Grab onto the side of the pier and let your legs float behind you. That'll get you used to floating."

Max crouched and grabbed the edge of the pier. He pushed his feet, and the sea carried his legs. He kicked. "Mother."

Elena shielded her face from the seawater. "You're all right, Max. Remember, I'm right here with you."

He exhaled and stilled. The salt massaged him, the waves pulsing upon him.

"You're doing great."

Max grinned. "Thank you, Mother. I'm ready to try something new."

"Are you ready to float on your stomach?"

"I'm already floating on my stomach."

"Not quite. You need to let go of the pier to float on your stomach."

Elena laid her hand on his stomach. Max nearly jumped.

"Sorry. It tickles."

"Let go."

Max blinked, hands sweaty.

"I won't let you go."

Max released the pier and spread his arms.

"Amazing, Max. You didn't need me to tell you that you need to spread your arms to float."

"It was just instinct. I don't know where it came from."

"Hold your breath. I'm going to lower you deeper into the sea. Take a big breath and don't breathe out."

Max inhaled sharply and held, cheeks inflated.

"Close your eyes. Good. Now, stay calm. Remember that I'm here." She lowered him deeper into the sea so that the water nearly touched his ears.

Water stroked him, and his shoulders fell. He dropped farther, the sea touching his earlobes. He could not hear. He did not feel his mother's hand keeping him near the surface.

He could not breathe.

He gasped, and bubbles floated to the surface and popped. His mother raised him above water before he could flail.

"That was great, Max. I'm proud of you."

"It felt like I was underwater for a long time. How long was I?'

"Only about ten seconds." Her smile broadened. "Time seems to slow underwater."

"It's so relaxing. If I could breathe, I'd stay there all day."

Once he adapted to floating on his stomach, he floated on his back, holding the pier. He slipped and splashed into the sea. He thrashed. Elena told him to relax, laying her hands on his back. His face poked above, and he breathed once more.

"You're learning so quickly, Max."

Max beamed similarly to how he had during his childhood. He stood in the middle of his bedroom, toddling to her. She kneeled near the door and outstretched her arms. He had tumbled into them, and she brought him into an embrace.

"You've learned so quickly, Max. You're such a smart boy."

He had beamed.

As she explained how to kick and dunk his arms, her eyes gravitated to Gerald, who stood outside of the cave leading to Veniccio Station. Gerald swiped his eye using his finger and then strode toward her.

Max gripped the pier. "It's fine, Mother. You can go see Father."

Elena slid her arms from Max and walked briskly toward Gerald, covering her mouth, eyes twinkling. He paced leisurely. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he did the same. She relaxed upon his chest, its rise and fall steady.

She pulled away. "You haven't changed a bit, from your appearance to your personality."

"Neither have you, as far as your personality." He inhaled, a mixture of the sea and air brushing him. "Your hair is styled nicely."

"I'm glad you like it." She brought her lips to his. Max turned his attention to Pau's cave, grimacing.

Time stopped. He brought her nearer, and her heart hastened. Strength flowed into each other. Gerald gently pushed himself from her and rested in the crook of her neck, Elena doing the same. The smell of burnt wood covered her.

Sand crunched, and Max dared to look. They walked, hand in hand, whispering to each other.

"Your eyes are as beautiful as ever."

Elena traced a finger down his torso. "And you've kept up with your exercising."

Red shined on Gerald's cheeks. Max's mouth hung.

Gerald stopped some yards from Max, tightening his grip upon her hands. "Did you get approval to spend the night?"

Elena shook her head. "Unfortunately."

"I see." He had never spent a night on Veniccio's sands, much less with Elena.

"Uh…"

His parents turned their full attention to him.

"I think I'm getting the hang of swimming now. I'll race you, Mother, from here to the island. You'll get there if you keep going straight."

Elena dove into the sea, and Max's mouth opened. She surfaced.

"Amazing."

"You only have a day," Gerald said. "I'd like some time alone with her, too."

Max leaped into the sea and was swaddled with water. Bubbles popped around him, and he emerged, gasping. He smiled sheepishly.

"I know it doesn't look like it, but I'm ready."

"Okay. Ready? Go." She swam, legs splashing water onto Max, and he kicked as quickly as he could. He passed her, flashing a grin. Elena regarded him calmly. She was, most likely, biding her energy to pass him once near the piers. He should have done the same; his mother would keep pace with him no matter his speed. He slowed, allowing Elena to close the distance, and they swam beside each other.

They swung into the opposite direction. Using their feet, they tapped the island's shore and pushed, imprinting the sand.

A sea turtle stroked past. Max pointed. "It's the sea turtle. It might be the same one that traveled the seas in that story. We should follow it."

Elena chuckled. "I'm afraid we can't do that, Max. I only have one day here."

"All right. Maybe next time."

Elena looked sideways. Believing that she would return meant that he took this time with her for granted, even though it did not seem he did. She would return to the future, her life in danger. He had to know.

She quickened, passing him. His jaw dropped. Saltwater flowed inside, and he sputtered.

She gripped the edge of the piers and smiled at Max, who grabbed the pier, panting, face red.

"Wow. You're a great swimmer, Mother."

"So are you, Max, especially for having just learned.. You have a lot of talent."

"I got my talent from the best."

Elena softened. She took Gerald's hands, and he helped her onto the pier, Max clambering upon it. A glare penetrated Max's eyes. He turned.

"The sun's about to set." Max cringed, turning slightly from the sun. "That means the evening sun's about to come out. It looks awesome."

"In that case, let's watch." Elena sat on the pier, dangling her feet into the sea. Max sat beside her and leaned onto her shoulder. Gerald sat, placing a hand on the small of Max's back. The evening sun warmed them, the sea, Veniccio. Elena closed her eyes, Bon tickling her feet. When the tip of the sun disappeared behind the sea, sleep would take her, and the sun would awaken her to Max and Gerald beside her—if Gerald had not coaxed her into staying awake with him.

"Mother?"

She opened her eyes. Max stood beside her bed, wearing pajamas, hair clinging to his head.

"Another nightmare?"

He nodded.

She slid farther from Gerald and patted the widened space. "You can sleep with us for the night."

He crawled between his parents and pulled the cover to his neck. "I dreamed that you left"—he tightened his clutch on the sheets—"and you never came back."

Elena's breath left her. She was thankful for the darkness blanketing her expression.

"When I woke up, I was so glad it was just a dream. You'd never do that, right, Mother?"

She had looked at his neck and said she would not.

"Mother?"

She opened her eyes. Max had lifted his head. "Yes, Max?"

"Today was so much fun. I'm glad we were able to spend time together."

Her vision blurred. "I am too."

He straightened and spread his arms. "Why don't you stay here after we defeat Griffon? A lot of your work should be finished by the time Griffon's gone, so you'll be free to return to the past. We could have more days like this. We could live like a normal family."

Elena looked at the sea. "We're not normal, Max."

His smile faded.

"A lot of the work in a war comes after the enemy is defeated. The nation needs to recover, and that can take a long time."

He lowered his hands to the pier.

"I'm one of the leaders in the rebellion against Griffon. Things would fall apart if I left."

He swelled with tears.

"Max, I was born in the future. I belong there. I have to help with the rebellion. My position is too important to up and leave. Many people rely on me." She clasped her hands. "I'm afraid I can't live with you and your father. I have to stay in the future, for my work."

"For your work?"

Gerald averted his gaze to the piers.

"For your work?" Max trembled. "You're putting your work above your family?"

He blinked, and tears coursed down his face. He hiccupped. Gerald looked to the cliff.

"That's so selfish." His voice cracked.

Gerald snapped his head to Max. "Maximilian!"

Max clenched his hands. "Aren't you upset, too? Don't you want her to stay? Father, I haven't ever seen you that happy before today. You have to want her to stay, too."

Gerald's lips thinned. He looked at his feet, the waves breaking them.

"You shouldn't have come to the past in the first place. Why would you attach yourself emotionally to someone else when…?" He rubbed his forehead and spoke through grit teeth. "Monica bottles her emotions all the time. Why didn't you?" He stood, his parents motionless, and ran into the cave leading to the station.

The sun disappeared below the horizon. The moon peaked, lighting Elena and Gerald in silver and taking the warmth the sun provided.

Elena rose. "It's time I took my leave."

"I'm sorry, Elena."

"There's no reason to apologize." She turned and walked toward the station. Gerald buried his head into his hands.

* * *

Max sat in a separate car than his parents, crossing his arms. Gerald cupped Elena's hand. Her breaths were shallow, and she stared out the window, expressionless.

The train halted. Max stepped onto the ground. Footsteps approached, and he led his parents to the time gate. Monica hopped off a pot and walked to them, brows arched upward. Max presented his Atlamillia. They traveled to the future.

Monica walked several feet away and leaned against the fence, pretending to gaze at the moon.

"This is where I leave."

Max growled softly.

"Please remember that I love you both, and I want the best for both of you."

Max peered at her. "Then why don't you stay?"

Elena and Gerald hugged, burying their heads into the crook of the others' neck. They held each others' hands and kissed.

"I love you," Gerald said.

"I love you, too."

Elena rested her head against his chest, and Gerald rested his within her hair. She slipped her hands from his.

Elena bent to Max's level. "Max."

Max faced the time gate, his back to Elena. "Father, are you ready?"

"Don't disrespect your mother, Maximilian."

"Leave him be for now," Elena said. "You can go."

Gerald stared at Elena. She nodded.

Monica pushed herself from the fence and walked inside the time gate. Her Atlamillia gleamed blue, which grew into whiteness, the time gate stretching to include Max and Gerald. They disappeared.

Elena walked stiffly toward the elevator, smiling at the workers who greeted her.

* * *

Max glowered at his father. "Why didn't you try to stop her?"

Gerald did not blink. Monica sighed quietly.

"You're always so emotionless. Even now…" His voice broke. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I thought I could talk to you about it, but you don't care at all." He ran down the slope, to Heim Rada's stop.

Monica flicked her gaze from the slope to Gerald. She opened her mouth.

"Talk to him."

She nodded and followed Max's path.

Gerald closed his eyes. "I've already shed too many tears."


	65. Two as One

**Chapter Sixty-five: Two as One**

As soon as Max opened his eyes, the previous day's events flooded him.

First, I'll teach you how to float. Amazing, Max. You're learning so quickly. You have a lot of talent. Leaning on her shoulder, between both parents. Happiness.

Why don't you stay here? My work is more important than you. Anger.

Max grit his teeth. He climbed on the train bench. Darkness outside.

He wiped his face using a sweaty hand, tears further dampening it. He walked the length of the car. His teammates slept on separate benches. He tiptoed out the train.

* * *

Monica stirred and then awakened. A hollow feeling rested in her stomach.

Before she could reach him, Max had pretended to sleep. She had called his name, but he remained silent. He probably lay awake, thinking of his mother. He should have known.

She swung her legs over the train bench and stood. Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha snoozed around her. Where had Max slept? She paced through the car until seeing a blanket pooled on the floor. The bench above was empty.

Maybe he had gone to the restroom. The hollowness intensified.

She recounted yesterday's events. Although she had stood a fair distance from Max, Elena, and Gerald, she noticed the tears in Max's eyes, his breaking voice, his glare at Elena.

Monica woke Gokuu and asked him to call Kintoun. They left the train, Gokuu rubbing his eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"Max had a bad day with his parents. I think he went into Mount Gundor, so I'm going to talk to him."

"Let me come too. I'll help."

"No, you won't. You'll make things worse." She scratched her cheek. "You're not the most empathic person, Gokuu."

Gokuu opened his mouth, and Monica raised her hand.

"You don't need to know what 'empathic' means."

He called Kintoun. Monica hopped on it and flew into Mount Gundor, Gokuu wishing her luck.

* * *

Max slid down the slope leading toward the mouth, the walls and lava flickering a red glow upon him. He peered around the corner, at the monsters in the clearing.

"From now on, we should only knock the monsters out, not kill them," Monica had said.

Monica was not with him.

Max ran toward the two Bomber Heads, dynamite within their barreled torsos, bombs serving as heads bobbing, and Ultrasonic Bomb. He raised his hammer and hooked his finger around his gun's trigger. The monsters smiled. Max shot at a Bomber Head. It jumped sideways, blubbering.

"I want to fight all of you. Go all-out."

The Ultrasonic Bomb stomped, causing Max to stumble. The Bomber Heads spun, their boxing gloves pounding his crossed arms. He stepped backward, toward the lava at the edge of the clearing. He kicked a Bomber Head's thin leg, and it collapsed. He backflipped, kicking the other's head. It clamped its hands upon its head to still it. He shot. One Bomber Head scrambled onto its feet, a beam scorching its barrel. The other scurried aside.

The Ultrasonic Bomb emitted sonic booms, blowing Max near the lava. He rose and rummaged inside his pouch. He did not feel Dr. Dell's medicine. His eyes watered, smoke billowing from his back, the monsters surrounding him.

* * *

Kintoun traced the path leading to the bottom of the volcano. Max had not been in the first half of Mount Gundor. Monica clutched the cloud. He had trekked by himself.

She turned a corner. Max, feet from the lava, ducked beneath his arms. Bomber Heads spun, punching him. With each sonic boom the Ultrasonic Bomb loosed, Max staggered closer to the lava, wincing.

Monica pointed to the Bomber Head. Kintoun sped to it, and the Balloon monster upon the Ultrasonic Bomb gasped. She sliced the Bomber Head's barrel repeatedly. It and the other Bomber Head rushed out the clearing, knees knocking. The Ultrasonic Bomb turned toward her.

Max lowered his guard. "Monica?"

"If you wanted to fight, you should've said something." She jumped onto the Ultrasonic Bomb and, using her sword's hilt, shoved the Balloon monster onto the ground.

Max galloped around the machine, crunching its funnels so that sonic booms could no longer burst from them. Sparks crackled, the Balloon monster scuttling around the corner.

Monica plunged her Holy Daedalus Blade into the Ultrasonic Bomb, piercing inches of its steel. It spun. She held the seat, shutting her eyes. Since the Ultrasonic Bomb was a machine, it could spin as long as needed. She leaped and rolled upon the ground. Max ran to her, brows arching upward.

Monica grasped her forehead, feeling for her pouch. "Focus on the monster, Max."

Max blinked. The Ultrasonic Bomb spun toward her.

"I don't want to fight anymore. You can leave."

It stopped, debris clouding its legs. It stomped out of the clearing, gibbering.

"I'm sorry, Monica. I didn't mean for anyone else to get hurt."

"It's okay." She gave him Dr. Dell's medicine. "You must be pretty angry after what happened with your mother."

He massaged the gel into his back. "Yeah."

"I don't blame you for taking your anger out on the monsters. Better than taking it out on your friends." She patted Kintoun. "How about we go back to Heim Rada? You can tell me what happened if you want. Talking to me is much safer than fighting monsters."

Max clambered behind her, and Kintoun passed over Mount Gundor.

"What happened? You looked really excited when your mother first agreed to go to the beach with you. Things obviously turned sour."

"Everything started out great, but…" Max explained yesterday's events.

"I understand. I'd be angry, too, and I have a worse temper than you do."

A frown pressed his face.

"That was supposed to be a joke."

"Oh. Sorry."

She sunk. "That really got to you, huh?"

Max nodded.

"And it looks like talking to me hasn't done much good. Maybe you do need something to whack." Her expression brightened. "The flyer in Balance Valley Station said that the Tenkaichi Budoukai: Warrior's Division would be held in three months, and three months has pretty much passed. We need to train before we face Griffon anyway."

Max watched the mountains blur below.

Monica nudged him. "C'mon, Max. You can't stay like that forever."

"But Elena doesn't care about me. She only cares about her work."

"She _is_ working to protect thousands of people."

Max snapped his head at her. "You're saying the same thing."

"No, I'm not, Max. Listen to me."

"I'm listening."

"Then stop talking."

They glowered at each other.

"You didn't let me finish. Don't jump to conclusions." She sighed. "Think of it this way: If you had a son or daughter that you hadn't seen in eight years—"

"I would have stayed with him."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Don't tell me what I'm saying."

"I can tell you what you're saying because you just said it. I'm not trying to read your mind and _jump to conclusions._"

"You just jumped to conclusions. You thought that I only said that because I'm angry."

Monica clamped her forehead. "Like I was trying to say before you interrupted me, I think that if you were actually in your mother's situation, you'd think differently."

Max narrowed his eyes. "You don't know that. Stop acting like you know me so well."

"I'm just trying to help."

"You're not helping."

Monica's face reddened. She crossed her arms. "Fine. I'll shut up. Go ahead and sulk. Push your friends away. See where that gets you."

Max closed his eyes. Monica had looked at his family with pity, had stayed silent while he left Elena and his father. "You knew this would happen, didn't you? Why didn't you warn me?"

"I wanted you to spend time with you mother, the one you haven't seen in eight years, because that's what friends do."

"Friends don't let other friends become hurt, like you did to me. You should've said something. I wouldn't have gone to the beach with her."

"Don't pin this on me. I haven't done anything."

"You have, Monica. You hurt me, too."

"And I can hurt you even more if I keep talking, which is why I said I would shut up. Now we should both shut up, okay? Wallow in your own pity, Max, and see what happens."

* * *

Yamcha leaned his head against the train bench. "So, Max went to Mount Gundor by himself."

"Yeah," Gokuu said. "Monica said it's because he's mad about his mother."

"No wonder Monica looked like that yesterday," Kuririn said.

The door opened, and Max and Monica stepped inside.

"Sorry about that. We were in Mount Gundor." She eyed Max, who glared at the floor. "Max has been pretty upset since Elena left. You all should steer clear of him for awhile."

Max looked sharply at her, eyes wide.

"You've been in such a bad mood that it'd be better if you spent some time alone."

Max growled softly. "Tell me when we get to the tournament." He entered another car.

"What tournament?" Yamcha said.

"The Tenkaichi Budoukai: Warrior's Division. Max, Gokuu, and I saw a flyer for it in Balance Valley Station. Max and I are going to enter. He should be able to blow off some steam there. Do any of you know where it is?"

"I think it was on that flyer," Gokuu said. "We should look at it again."

"A flyer turned up in Muten Roushi-sama's mailbox. He should know where's it's being held."

Monica and the boys entered Cedric's iron house. Muten Roushi stood alongside Buruma, Oolong Puar, Cedric, Borneo, and Erik.

"I was about to come for you all." Muten Roushi tapped the flyer. "This is about to begin. We need to go to the tournament grounds."

"Where's Max?" Borneo said.

"Asleep on the train," Monica said. "He spent all day yesterday training for the tournament."

Muten Roushi adjusted his sunglasses. "He'll need to wake up soon. But first, I'm sure some of his friends from Palm Brinks would want to watch. Let's gather them all."

They announced their plans in Palm Brinks, and many citizens boarded the train. The group then stopped in Sindain and retrieved Polly, Gordon, Adel, and Milane, who said, "I'm entering, too."

Monica smiled wryly.

They gathered the citizens in Balance Valley. At Argo's suggestion, Monica searched for Lin on Kintoun. Lin stood on one of the prongs attached to the Moon Crystal, spreading her arms, eyes closed. When she opened them, a solid dome surrounded the Moon Crystal and then faded. She exhaled and waved at Monica. "Monica. I sensed you coming."

Monica raised her brows. "Wow. You've improved a lot since I last saw you."

Lin's expression brightened further. "Have I? I've been performing this spell every week. It's the same kind of shield Master Crest used, so if it's damaged, I'll be hurt, too. That hasn't happened, but I've been able to sense different kinds of monsters while walking around Starlight Canyon. I can distinguish between a Smiling Fairy and a Masked Tribesman. It's incredibly helpful."

"I think you've been improving faster than you were when you trained with Crest."

Lin chuckled. "That's peculiar."

"Anyway, I came to tell you that Max and I are entering a tournament, and we were wondering if you wanted to watch."

"The Tenkaichi Budoukai: Warrior's Division? I saw the flyer for that in the station. I was about to head to the Southern City to enter, but I want to catch up with you, Gokuu and the others."

Monica's eyes widened. She cleared her throat, forcing them to their normal size. "Sorry, but, um, you don't have a weapon."

Lin raised her broom. "I use this to cast spells."

"Well, then, c-climb on."

Lin did so, giggling. "Surprised?"

"Yeah."

Monica and Lin flew into the station and entered the train. They sat across from each other, near Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha. Kuririn's cheeks filled with red, and he bowed his head, fumbling with his fingers.

"Like I told you, Lin, we've gotten some new allies since we left Starlight Canyon. That's Yamcha, and that's Kuririn."

"Nice to meet you," Yamcha said.

Kuririn peered at her, tapping his fingers. "Hi."

"How come your owl isn't here, too?" Gokuu said.

"Argo doesn't want to watch me fight," Lin said.

"But I thought you haven't seen Argo since you went off to train."

"I haven't. I've started to use telepathy, though."

Monica's mouth hung. "Geez, Lin."

"I just started last week, so it's not that developed yet. I can't read other people's minds unless I'm close to them emotionally, which is why I can only read Argo's mind and communicate with him."

Kuririn slumped against the seat. "Thank goodness you can't read my mind."

"I don't want to read everyone's minds. It'd be too distressing." She looked around. "Where's Max?"

"He's in another car. His friends from Palm Brinks have been talking to him a lot."

Gerald sat beside Max, not only to tell him that he would also enter and wish him luck, but also so that the citizens would not become suspicious. Thankfully, Max did not need to stay with Gerald long. Many citizens spoke to he and Gerald, reducing awkwardness.

"Your head's naked, man." Donny gave Max a new hunting cap. "On the house."

"Thanks, Donny." He placed the hat on his head. "That feels better."

After gathering Veniccio's citizens, they traveled toward the Southern City.

Max joined his teammates in the same car, the Blackstone One stopping in an underground station. He looked out the window but was unable to receive a visual of the area; Muten Roushi said, "Go ahead and take off your shells."

Max stepped into the aisle, slipping off his shell's straps alongside his teammates.

Muten Roushi pointed to Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha. "Not you three."

Yamcha groaned, he, Gokuu, and Kuririn reequipping their shells. Max and Monica placed their shells onto the train benches, and the benches creaked. They rested them on the ground.

They disembarked, curiosity replacing Max's anger. Despite being underground, the station did not resemble Balance Valley's. Wooden walls enclosed them, and their footfalls echoed upon the brick floor. A golden archway stood before the stairs leading to the outside, up which the five, Muten Roushi, Lin, and the citizens ran, excusing themselves past fighters and spectators.

A crowd covered the walkway leading to the registration table, behind which sat a monk wearing a turban. Men wielded maces, scimitars, staves, and improvised weapons, one weapon a clarinet headed by a hammer, another a branch tied to a skillet. Women were scarce; one held a bow, a quiver mounted upon her back, and another held an axe, at which Oolong shuddered. A wolf stood on its hind legs, one tapping a rifle in its hand. Max furrowed his brows. Monsters were allowed to enter?

"Don't tell me _all _of these people are planning on entering," Monica said.

"There's a fairly good chance of that." Muten Roushi pointed to a temple-like building. On the sign perched near its roof was written "Tenkaichi Budoukai: Warrior's Division." Before the temple towered a halved gate, its halves, a devil's head fronting each, standing at the temple's sides. A crowd larger than the line for registration inched toward its inside. "That's why you'll fight in the preliminaries held there. The eight who make it out will enter the actual tournament."

Max's and Monica's eyes bulged.

"Only eight out of all these people?" Monica said.

"Don't worry. I have the utmost confidence in you two. You've been training very hard for the past few months. Keep your guards up, and remember everything about fighting that you learned from fighting monsters."

"Right," Max said. "That's all we have to do."

"Hey, all. Long time no see."

The five's faces lit up at an approaching Osmond.

Oolong huffed. "Great. Just who we need."

Osmond pushed past Oolong to stand before the five and Muten Roushi. "Here to enter?"

"Sure are," Max said.

"So am I."

"But you don't have a weapon," Monica said.

"On the contraire…" Osmond whipped a machine gun from his pocket, two barrels protruding from its end. "I call it a Star Breaker."

"Is that what _you_ call it," Oolong said, "or is that what it's actually called?"

"It's actually called the Star Breaker, since it matters so much to you. I also have several other guns, including a beam gun, and that's actually called the Supernova, since you obviously care. Speaking of caring, Elena should be somewhere in this crowd. She came to cheer you two on."

Max's eyes narrowed to slits, and he balled his hands.

Monica scowled. "Seriously, Max? Even when she takes time out of her busy schedule to support you, you have the nerve to act so spoiled?"

Max clenched his jaw, vein popping. He stalked inches from her, tightening his grip on his hammer.

"Whoa, are you really gonna fight before the tournament starts?" Gokuu said.

"I feel like I'm missing something." Osmond glanced at Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha for clarification, but their eyes stayed fixed upon Max and Monica.

Muten Roushi stepped between them. "Let's not start anything. I don't have a clue what happened, but use that anger in the tournament."

Max stomped to the back of the line. The remainder of the group joined him, Monica behind Gokuu, Kuririn, and Yamcha.

"What happened?" Gokuu said.

Monica's brows slanted further downward. "Max's been acting like a brat ever since he saw Elena. I can understand up to an extent, but he needs to stop. I don't know what I'd give to have both of my parents here, cheering me on, let alone my father here to enter like Gerald is."

"I didn't tell you?" Osmond said. "Your mother's coming here, too. She said she'd be here after the preliminaries."

Monica melted into a smile. "Really? I haven't seen her in months. I'm glad she was able to leave the kingdom."

"A lot more people are coming than you think. I've invited a few of my friends, too."

"Are they just like you?" Oolong said.

"Why, yes, they are. I invited them just to annoy you."

Yamcha stood on his toes. Max tapped his foot. "Max still looks pretty angry. Maybe he just needs to talk to Elena himself. They could figure things out."

"I think so," Monica said. "Talking with me won't do anything. I thought talking would make him feel better, but it looks like it's made him feel worse."

"Maybe it's 'cause you talk too much," Gokuu said.

She waved her hand dismissively. "I don't talk too much."

Kuririn raised his finger. "Actually, Miss Monica, I think you do."

"Me, too," Yamcha said. Puar, who floated behind his shoulder, nodded.

"I was only trying to give Max some advice. Besides, I was quiet when he was explaining what had happened and how he felt. I thought waiting until after that would be an appropriate time to give him advice."

"He probably needs someone who keeps their mouth shut but is still empathic with him," Buruma said. "Maybe he needs someone who says, 'Hey, I know how that feels, doesn't it suck?' or something like that."

Monica scratched the side of her face. "I sort of don't know how that feels, I guess. Maybe I tried butting in too much." In addition, Max had said that she hurt him. She cast her eyes downward. Perhaps an apology was necessary.

The group reached the registration table. The monk looked over Max's shoulder. "It seems as though you're the last contestants registering. It's almost closing time, anyway." He reached under his desk and withdrew a "Closed" sign.

Light twinkled near the sun. An explosion boomed, quaking the ground. A blue time gate expanded, and through it passed a four-pawed brown and yellow beast, thick wings flapping.

Osmond grinned. "Took them long enough."

A boy wearing a green hat, brown hair protruding beneath, orange poncho rippling, gripped the beast's horns. Beside him stood a catgirl in a short, white dress, looking around. She pointed a claw to the registration table, and the beast swooped toward it.

"Watch out!" the girl said.

The group jumped backward, and the beast landed in the spot they had stood. Max looked over the group accompanying the brown-haired boy and catgirl: a stout boy, a hood resembling a bear's head hiding his hair; a female genie, midriff exposed, grayish-purple hair tied in a ponytail; and a tall, skinny, bronze-skinned man, small eyes moving over the crowd.

A chunk of the crowd ran to the beast. The brown-haired boy and his comrades jumped off, save the genie, who floated. They greeted one another, the genie floating to a wide man in a white, pinstripe suit, hair rolled at the sides. The man stepped back and shook her hand.

A woman strongly resembling the brown-haired boy, wearing an orange skirt touching her ankles, and a teenage girl ran to the boy. The teenager, a white dress draped around her, hair cupped into orange cylinders at the sides, took the boy's hands.

Osmond pointed to the boy, who nodded at the teenage girl's words. "That's Toan, the boy who doesn't know what a high-five is, like you, Max. Watch."

Osmond pressed a button upon his square backpack. Propellers extended from it, and Max's mouth hung ajar. He pushed the button once more. The propellers spun. He flew to the boy, whose eyes lit up. Osmond raised a hand. Toan reached toward it. Osmond turned his hand downward and slapped his hand.

"You never change," Osmond said. Toan's smile broadened.


	66. Qualifications

**Chapter Sixty-six: Qualifications**

A large orb appeared to merge with the clouds to the crowd below. Toan and his allies could, hopefully, fight their successors They had grown physically and mentally since completing their journey. Simba wanted to evaluate them in case he needed them again. As long as hate existed, the Dark Element would never be destroyed.

Simba snuggled nearer to the clouds. He had hardly overseen Toan and his allies while they traversed through the Demon Shaft. They surely became several times stronger.

He inwardly thanked Muten Roushi for giving Max and Monica shells. The duo would need them.

* * *

The brown and yellow beast settled onto the ground. It shook its head, ears flopping. "I have a clear view of the stage from here. Good luck, you all."

"What's that?" Max said, Toan patting the beast. Buruma, Oolong, and Puar inched closer to Yamcha.

"He's Dran," Osmond said, "who Toan, myself, and our allies travel on sometimes, like you all ride Kintoun."

"I've read about him," Monica said. "He's the divine beast in the Divine Beast Cave."

"How could you read about him?" Kuririn said. "Did he exist before your time?"

"He's existed for hundreds of years. I bet he's in some of the books in your era, too. My father also talked about him a little."

"Yep." Osmond swung his arm around Toan's shoulder. "Toan and us are the reason for Monica's existence."

"My father's mentioned that plenty of times, believe me." Monica clasped Toan's hands. "I'm Monica, Seda and Sophia Raybrandt's daughter. My parents have spoken very highly of you all. I'm glad I've finally met you."

Toan grinned.

Pau approached them. "But when that ghost was attacking you all in Veniccio, I mentioned Toan and Osmond, the Dark Genie, Yellow Drops... How come you said you knew nothing about them?"

"Because I didn't. My father said that I was too young to hear about Toan and Osmond's adventure in detail. He told me that what happened was incredibly gruesome, and I shouldn't hear about it until I turned sixteen or seventeen." She rubbed the back of her head. "Even so, he let me play with swords when I was five."

Yamcha raised a brow. "How do you play with swords?"

"You know, just swing them around and knock stuff over, pretend you're fighting a monster or something. The usual."

"Doesn't sound like the usual to me," Kuririn said.

Osmond rummaged inside his pocket. "I know you're going to ask, so I might as well tell you now." He withdrew a square device, an antenna atop. "I've developed a remote control for Ixion as well, kind of like a portable time-traveling device, like your Atlamillias. This way, people without Atlamillias can travel to the past or future. I gave a copy to Toan so he could travel to this time."

"That sounds pretty dangerous to be giving away to people," Oolong said.

"I only gave it to them because I trust them. I'd never give it to you."

"I'd never take anything your hands touched."

"I'd never want to give anything to you."

Osmond cleared his throat. "How about we introduce one another?" He clapped Toan's back, forcing Toan to hiccup. "As I said, this is Toan, the leader of our group."

"How can a leader be so quiet?" Yamcha said. "I haven't heard him talk yet."

"He talks. He just hasn't had a reason to yet. He usually communicates to people through actions, but when he's explaining important events, like what's happened on our journey, he talks."

"Looks more like you speak for him."

Toan opened his mouth.

"I'm Xiao," the cat girl said, waving. Toan slumped. "Master changed me into a human with a potion that white-haired guy gave him."

"I have no idea where or how Father got that," Monica said. "Imagine what would happen if people could transform their pets into humans."

Oolong curled his hands. "I could use that potion to turn into a human."

"I can see it now," Puar said. "A human with a curly tail, a snout, and floppy ears."

"You'd look worse, with your blue fur all over you."

"Better than having a snout."

Oolong snorted. "You guys are badgering me today."

"Your face asks for that to happen," Osmond said.

"At least I'm not hiding in my clothing."

He adjusted his goggles. "For your information, this is traditional Moon Person clothing."

"I thought all rabbits wore cloaks with hoods," Gokuu said.

"Only Moon People who possess the mystical powers of the ancients wear those. I don't—at least, I've never tried." He tugged his shirt. "I'm more of a hands-on, concrete guy." He thumbed his propeller. "If it wasn't for this, we wouldn't have been able to fly over gaps in dungeons."

The stout boy wearing a bear's head as a hood said, "It took forever. You were so weak that you could only carry one of us at a time."

"We finished. That's all that matters."

"And who are you?" Muten Roushi said.

"Goro, the best hunter from Matataki Village."

Monica narrowed her eyes. "That's an unnecessarily strong introduction."

"He's young," the tall, bronze-skinned man said. "He has much to learn."

"You've been riding me since you joined us. Leave me alone."

"That's because I see your potential. Your pride is holding you back."

Goro slung his Inferno, a crimson-colored hammer, black stripes between the red, thick bands. "It never held me back during our journey."

"It did. You've purposely forgotten those incidents."

"You're trying to make me look bad in front of all these people since you're not as good as I am."

Osmond knocked his head. "There's no getting through."

The bronze-skinned man straightened. "I am Ungaga of Muska Lacka."

Max blinked. Ungaga towered, shoulders back, and radiated confidence. His small eyes darted; he was observant. He would probably advance to the tournament.

"Where did the genie you had with you go?" Muten Roushi said.

The genie floated from the wide man wearing the white, pinstripe suit, to Muten Roushi's face. "The one right here?"

He pushed his sunglasses nearer to his eyes. "Yes. How are you?"

"I'm wonderful, thank you." She floated before each of the five. "I'm Ruby." She stopped before Kuririn, who dug his blushing face into his arms. "Hi, there."

Kuririn peered over his arms. "Hello, Miss."

"Will I see you in the preliminaries?"

"No. I fight with my fists, not a weapon."

Ruby's smile broadened. "Then you're strong."

"That's what I like to think."

She giggled and floated above Toan. "I'm looking forward to fighting whoever I'm going to fight."

"If you're a genie," Monica said, "then I'm guessing you use magic."

Ruby gestured toward her Secret Armlet, two thin, gray rings overlapping each other. "That's right." She floated near Monica's Satan Brassard. "And you also use magic. Just a warning: If you're matched against me, you won't be advancing to the next round."

Monica balled her hands. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the heads-up."

"Pride cometh before the fall, ladies," Osmond said.

Gokuu looked between them. "First Max and Monica, now Monica and this lady. There must be something about Monica that makes people angry."

"She obviously started it, Gokuu."

Ruby flipped her hair. "I didn't start anything. You misinterpreted my warning as trying to start conflict."

Monica grit her teeth. "Did I now?"

"You did. That dim head will cost you."

Muten Roushi wiped his nose. "Please, save that energy for the tournament."

Buruma rolled her eyes.

"Um, you haven't registered yet," the monk behind the table said.

"We'd better go," Goro said. "See you inside."

After their teammates and the citizens wished them luck, Max, Monica, Lin, Osmond and Milane entered the temple in which the preliminaries were to occur. Its ceilings were high, and the floor, wooden. Fighters surrounded a raised platform, microphone mounted in its middle. Max and the others, unable to see from the back, squeezed to the front.

Max scowled. He had not seen his father since they disembarked the train. His father had, most likely, left to see Elena. How could he stay loyal toward her?

Toan and his allies maneuvered to the front, joining Max and the others. Ruby floated, cross-legged, above the crowd.

The monk from the registration table tapped the microphone, a dullness echoing. "Excuse me, everyone."

The chatter gradually subsided.

"We will now begin the first Tenkaichi Budoukai: Warrior's Division. Thank you all for attending. I would like to mention that, according to registration, 153 fighters are participating for the title of the strongest warrior under the heavens."

Monica gasped. Max's mouth hung, and Toan's jaw dropped.

"However, only eight will be chosen to fight in the arena outside."

Toan's jaw fell farther. Ruby placed a hand on his chin and closed it.

"I will now explain the rules." The monk pointed to four posters lined on the wall, a chart drawn on each, one labeled, "Block One," the other, "Block Two," and so on. "Because so many fighters are participating, you will be divided into four blocks. You will draw a number from a box, determining which block you are in and whom you will be fighting."

Max scratched the side of his face. "Let's hope none of us have to fight each other so soon."

"Muten Roushi said you'd be fine, right?" Osmond said. "Besides, you trained with weights." He gestured toward Toan and the others. "None of us did."

"But you guys already saved the world once," Monica said. "That makes up for it."

Goro swung his Inferno. Toan hopped backward. "It sure does."

"You're certainly staying humble."

Goro pounded his chest. "When you're as strong as I am, there's no need to stay humble. I actually have the strength to back up my words."

"Really?"

"What makes you think I don't?"

Goro's rotund body nearly encompassed her view of the stage. She bit her lip to prevent herself from saying something she would regret.

Max tuned out Monica and Goro's banter to listen to the rules.

"If your weapon is knocked out of your hand, you have ten seconds to retrieve it. If you cannot retrieve it within that time period, you will be disqualified."

Max tightened his grip on his Heavy Hammer and Steal Gun.

"The preliminary rounds will last one minute and, if the fight isn't over within that minute, a judge will decide who will continue."

"Look at all these skinny people." Goro swung his Inferno once more. Toan hopped backward, glaring. "I'll be able to take them all down in seconds." He punched Max's shoulder, and Max nearly tumbled onto Osmond. "You wield the same kinda weapons I do." He fisted his hips. "How can you hold that thing up with your scrawny self?"

Max glanced over himself. "Scrawny?"

Ungaga stepped between them. "Don't fight unless you need to."

"Follow his advice," Ruby said. "I don't want to have to listen to you longer than I have to."

"What's that?"

Ruby floated near the ceiling, Goro's babbling inaudible to her.

"Please step onto the stage and draw numbers."

Once the group had taken numbers, they walked to each of the posters on the wall.

The color drained from Max's body. "I, I face Father first?" He stared, paling further by the second.

"Move it, kid. Nobody can see."

"What are ya doin'?"

Max started. Several muscular men surrounded him, some wielding axes. "Sorry." He sauntered sideways, and the men pushed and shoved one another to fill his spot. He sagged against the wall, pupils dilated.

"Max?"

The world sharpened into focus. Monica stood before him.

"You okay? You look like someone hit you with a shovel."

Max blinked slowly. "I, I have to fight my father first."

"No wonder you look like that. In all honesty, I'd probably look worse if I found out that I had to fight my father."

Xiao jumped between them. Max staggered backward, Monica leaning.

"Where did you come from?" Monica said.

Xiao giggled. "Where do you think?"

"I don't know. Where could you have gone?"

"Who're you guys fighting against? I'm fighting Nagita." Xiao pointed to a smirking, bronze-skinned female who towered over most of the few females in the crowd. Two similar-looking females stood alongside her, one with short-cropped black hair, the other's hair braided.

"F-Father," Max said.

Xiao cocked her head. "Who's Father?"

"Max's father's name is Gerald." Monica stood on her toes. "He's somewhere in this crowd, but I can't see over all these huge guys. I'm sure he's looking for Max, though." She sighed. "I have to fight Lin first."

Max's eyes widened.

"She's so fragile. I get the feeling that if I push her, she'll shatter into a million pieces."

"Max."

Max whirled around, facing Gerald. His heartbeat hastened.

"I saw the chart. By the way you look, you did as well."

Max blinked.

"Use all the strength you can muster to defeat me. Don't hold back, no matter what." Gerald raised his Twin Buster, a grenade gun, its gray barrel darkening at the tip, redness trimming its nozzle. "I certainly won't."

"Yes, Father."

"Good luck." Gerald turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Max ran his hands over his Steal Gun. His father had seen Elena after her selfishness.

Xiao bristled. "What a scary man."

Goro stomped to them. "You all seen who you're gonna fight?"

"Sure have." Monica gestured toward Max, who stared at the spot in which Gerald had stood. "Just look at Max."

"I'm fighting against a bunch of nobodies."

"Whoever you're fighting against, I'm looking forward to watching you. You'd better have a lot of strength to back up all that talking you did today."

"I do."

"He does," Xiao said. "I've seen him push really big switches that even Master couldn't push."

Monica shifted to her right foot. "Switches, huh?"

Once the rest of the group found Max, Monica, Xiao, and Goro, they told one another who they would fight. Toan, Ruby, Ungaga, Osmond, and Milane fought those they had never heard of. Monica and Lin exchanged smiles.

"I can't wait to see how you handle magic," Monica said. "I bet you give the monsters in Starlight Canyon a run for their money."

"Sometimes," Lin said. "When they become used to my fighting style, I have to switch it up."

Monica frowned. Because Lin was forced to change her fighting style periodically, her style was, most likely, unpredictable.

"All right, everyone," a referee said. "We will now begin matches in the third block."

The natter faded, and the group turned toward the stage.

"Numbers seventy and seventy-one, please step onto the stage."

Max lost his breath. "That's me."

Ungaga placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Fight hard."

Max nodded slowly.

"You can do it, Max," Osmond said.

Toan flashed a grin at Max, who stared at the stage.

"Maximilian!"

Max jumped. "Yes, Father?"

Gerald pointed to the stage below him. "Come up here. You'll hold everything up."

"Yes, Father." Max ran to the stage, tripping and slapping the floor to stop a fall, and clambered onto the stage. Goro snickered.

The referee looked from Max, to Gerald, and back. "Boy in the hat, you're not permitted to use two weapons unless your opponent uses two weapons as well."

"Okay." Max crouched at the edge of the stage and gave the referee his Heavy Hammer.

"Your one minute begins now."

Gerald aimed his Twin Buster at Max. "You heard the referee."

Max aimed, sweat rolling down his temple. They remained still, the temple silent, save for murmuring about a boy fighting his father.

Goro tapped his foot. "Why don't they get it on already?"

"For once, I agree," Monica said. "There's a time limit, after all."

"You only have one minute," the referee said.

Gerald shot.

Max dove sideways, the Steal Gun slipping out his hand. The grenade blasted the wall, and fighters scattered. He pivoted and then rolled, grabbing his gun, his sweaty palms nearly causing him to fumble. He gripped it using both hands and shot. Gerald sidestepped, shooting. Max jumped backward. The grenades holed the stage. Max flinched with each explosion; the heat seared his shins.

His father shot, and Max ducked, rolled, stepped to dodge each grenade. _Could I catch one of them? _He outstretched an arm.

"Max, no!"

The grenade exploded against Max's palm, tossing him onto the edge of the stage, head inches from the floor. He panted, hand darkening.

He staggered upright, dropping his blackened hand to his side. He drew in air between clenched teeth and grabbed his wrist. He pressed his Steal Gun's hilt against his blackened hand and then quickly withdrew it, wincing.

Max aimed. Gerald smiled and copied.

Max shot to Gerald's right and left and then shot underneath both beams. He aimed squarely at Gerald and shot. Gerald jumped. Max shot. The beam pierced Gerald's chest, pieces of his clothing drifting to the floor and revealing a dark line.

Gerald landed. "Not bad."

"Thank you, Father. You're strong, too."

"Of course I am. I've been using guns since before you were born."

Osmond scoffed. "I've been using guns since before both of them were born."

Gerald shot four grenades, two on either side of Max, two beneath those grenades. Max leaped overhead, and the grenades flew into the fighters, parting them, and then blew holes into the wall.

Max fell toward another grenade. He shot it, and the grenade exploded. He crossed his arms before his body, shielding himself from the heat. He plummeted into the explosion, grunting, and stumbled onto his feet.

Gerald shot the red and black cloud. Max bounded into another grenade, and he was thrown toward the floor. He smacked his hand upon the stage and hoisted himself so that his feet dangled to the ceiling. Gerald shot. Max cartwheeled and then galloped toward Gerald.

A gong sounded. "Time."

Max reeled to a stop, and he and his father faced the referee, who raised a small gong.

"Your time is up. A judge will decide who will progress to the next round."

A robed man stepped beside the referee, roving his eyes over Max and Gerald. He read his notepad and bit his pen.

"That's too bad," Osmond said. "It looked like they were really getting into their element."

Goro fingered his ear. "Pretty unimpressive fight. If it was up to me, I wouldn't let either of them go to the next round."

"I thought it was impressive," Xiao said. The judge's forehead wrinkled. "It looks like the judge thought so, too."

Toan stared, open-mouthed, at Max and Gerald, both of whom smiled at each other. He scratched his head, unable to determine the type of relationship they had. Would Toan and his father have had a similar relationship?

"I kinda wish we could've gone a little farther, Father. I had just gotten warmed up."

"I do, too. Fighting in the dungeons has hardened you, something I haven't had much experience of. I'm sure you would've beaten me, anyway. I've gotten used to shooting targets that don't fight back."

"The judge has made his decision."

The judge pointed to Max.

"Number seventy will advance to the next round."

Max and Gerald climbed and jumped, respectively, off the stage.

"Congratulations, Max. Remember, keep your guard up for the upcoming rounds."

"I will, Father."

Gerald turned toward the entrance, Monica and the others lauding Max. Max seemed to have forgotten about Elena, and Gerald did not want to distract him. Gerald paced to the entrance.

Max glared over Toan's shoulder. Gerald was too worried about Elena to watch his son. He, too, was selfish.


	67. Rising

**Chapter Sixty-seven: Rising**

Contestants fought, Monica and Lin's match approaching. Monica scrutinized Toan and Goro. Toan sliced, his crimson-glowing blade, sharp, bronze trims at its sides, blurring, while stepping toward his opponents, pushing many, some thrice Toan's size, off the stage. Monica gaped. Toan's straightforward attacks were laced with power. The final attack in his combination, a downward slash, carved a gash from one opponent's forehead to his abdomen. The gong rang, and Toan was declared the winner, his opponent carted out on a stretcher.

Goro smashed the stage using his hammer. He did not expend all his energy unless the opponent matched or surpassed him in strength and skill. None did. Monica frowned. Goro's power supported his words.

Max shifted from side to side. Goro gripped his hammer with both hands, doubling his power. The gust from Goro's swings caused Max and other fighters to stagger. When Max became angry in Rainbow Butterfly Wood, he had destroyed monsters many times stronger within seconds. He could win against Goro if he summoned that strength.

Max rubbed his face. He prepared for a match that probably would not happen.

Lin eyed Monica during the matches, unsure about Monica's proficiency using magic. Throughout Lin's travels with the trio, Monica mostly used her sword, using magic as a distraction. Hopefully, Lin's training would facilitate handling her own magic.

Lin no longer needed to visualize different elements to change her magic's attribute. She thought the element's name and then channeled energy to her broomstick. However, Monica, most likely, did not need to apply the visualization technique. She had been raised in the future, a time of war. Her father, a magic swordsman, had trained her since childhood. How could Lin compete?

"You okay?"

Lin turned toward Monica, squeezing her broomstick. "Yeah. Just nervous."

Monica smiled sheepishly. "Me too."

Lin shook her head before negative thoughts ate her. She had never seen Master Crest lose. He remained calm to focus on his opponent, find weaknesses.

Lin concentrated on her surroundings, and her shoulders lightened. Fighters cheered, slapped one another's backs. Rivals spoke of fighting after several years. The large stage would allow Lin to move as much as needed. In Starlight Canyon, she could not dodge on the narrow paths, forcing her to guard or run until the monster tired or its attack dissipated. Bruises formed on Lin's arms and broomstick from failed attempts to escape. Weeks passed, her pace quickening so that she avoided pain and scars.

Perhaps Monica would try to drive Lin off the stage. Lin refused to levitate since Monica could not. Maybe she could push Monica onto the floor.

"Contestants one-hundred and one-hundred-one, please report to the stage."

Milane clapped Monica's and Lin's shoulders. "Good luck to the both of you. I'm sure it'll be a great match, although one that'll be cut short with this time limit. Keeps us from getting into the swing of things."

Toan grinned at them.

Ruby turned onto her stomach. "How good are you, Monica?"

Monica glared. "You'll see, won't you?"

Ruby's smirk widened.

"Please don't make Ruby mad," Osmond said.

"Why? What happens?"

"I don't know, but the way people in Queens talk about her temper, it's scary. Very scary."

Monica's brows slanted further downward. "I see."

"Good luck," Max said.

"Geez, Max. You look more nervous than us."

He placed a hand on the back of his head. "I was hoping none of us would have to fight each other."

"We'll be fine. Besides, we need the extra training. We're fighting Griffon right after this."

Monica and Lin backflipped and climbed, respectively, onto the stage. Goro dug inside his nostril.

Monica gave the referee her sword and then stood across from Lin. "Good luck."

"The same to you." Lin fingered her broomstick. "I doubt I can defeat you—"

"Don't talk like that. You never know what can happen."

Lin chided herself for sweating before the match began. "Right." Her shoulders were high, breaths shallow. Monica breathed deeply, cupping the air around her Satan Brassard.

"Begin."

Lin slowed her breathing and narrowed her eyes. The world sharpened, fighters' chatter drowning into silence. Redness sparked within Monica's palm, and a red orb grew. Monica spoke, but Lin did not hear. Monica tossed four fireballs. The Nikapouses had cartwheeled inside their masks, used martial arts. Lin had copied. She cartwheeled. The fireballs blackened the stage. Monica's eyes widened. She spoke once more, but Lin did not hear.

Lin shot a fireball, a lightning orb, and a wind orb. Monica sidestepped, the magic curving toward her. Lin visualized the wind orb rupture. It burst, and a rush of wind blew the fireball toward Monica, who crossed her arms before her face and pivoted, the wind rippling her ponytail. Lin envisioned the lightning orb. She hooked her fingers around an invisible object. Prongs broke from the orb and shocked Monica. She writhed. The fireball blasted her stomach, enflaming her shirt. Smaller fireballs from the flames scorched her arms and legs.

Blueness crackled at the tip of her broomstick. Lin balled her hand, the blueness bulking into an orb. Lin dispatched the water orb. She unclenched her fist. It exploded, expanding into a torrent. It crashed onto Monica and doused the flames. The shock intensified. Monica chewed her tongue.

Lin exhaled. The sparks faded, and Monica dropped facedown. The referee began to count.

Maybe Lin had underestimated herself. Maybe Monica had too.

Monica staggered upright, coughing, one eye shut. Her shirt had been burned into a hole, revealing a charred stomach. She threw fireballs, and Lin galloped sideways, the fireballs careening onto the stage.

Monica closed her eyes, opening her remaining senses to track Lin. Lin darted around the fireballs but did not near Monica. She visualized lightning. A purple orb enlarged within the palm of her hand. Monica flung the lightning orb. A wind orb grew at the tip of Lin's broomstick. The lightning hovered. Lin shot the wind orb and then unclenched her fist. The wind orb ruptured. The gust blew the lightning orb sideways. Monica visualized prongs protruding from the lightning. Her lightning orb split and jolted Lin. Lin screamed, shutting her eyes, fighters' chatter returning.

Monica tossed three fireballs, which then exploded upon Lin's stomach and legs, flaring up her clothing. Lin's scream quieted fighters. Monica visualized the lightning disappear, and it did so. Lin fell and rolled back and forth.

Monica charged her brassard. "If you don't give up, I'll keep going."

"I give!" Lin stilled, the flames extinguished, and panted.

"Number one-hundred will be advancing to the next match."

Ruby crossed her legs, leaning her cheek upon her hand, Monica helping Lin onto her feet. "Lin's magic is pretty impressive. I'd rather fight her than Monica, but I doubt she could beat me."

Max gawked. Was Ruby as strong as she claimed? She must. She had saved the world.

"I expected more from Monica, especially since Monica's had more experience fighting. Her magic was way too direct. Lin's attacks, though, they were much sneakier. I wouldn't have suspected the wind to blow the fireballs toward Monica." She giggled. "Unless I didn't know how to do that myself."

Max swatted a fly from his open mouth. Lin might have won if the minute had elapsed. Her techniques outmatched Monica's. Perhaps Monica had held back in the beginning so that she would not severely hurt Lin. Max would have done the same.

"Besides, Monica uses the old visualization technique. She won't last long in this tournament."

"She might use her sword for the rest of the tournament," Milane said.

"Not likely."

Lin thanked Monica and scooted off the stage. Monica jumped off.

"You did great, Lin." Monica scratched the side of her face. "I'm not gonna lie: I underestimated you."

"That's understandable. I wasn't much of a fighter when Master Crest was alive. You, Max, and Gokuu had to protect me an awful lot."

"I'm sure Crest is proud. You're definitely closer to being a sage."

Lin thumbed her broomstick. "I wouldn't go that far."

"Seriously. Once you gain a reputation, you'll protect others just by being there."

She smiled. "Yeah."

The referee called Ruby to the stage. She remained rooted near the edge, bowling her magic at her opponent and changing its attributes in milliseconds. She caused it to explode without gestures. When Ruby's fireballs exploded, flames enveloped the opponent, and the opponent rolled on the floor. The referee started to count. The opponent stood, the flames barely snuffed, similarly to Evil Flames. Monica's frown deepened. Ruby would be difficult to defeat.

Monica smirked. Although a genie, Ruby used an armlet. She had weaknesses. Monica needed to exploit them.

She cleared her throat. She prepared for a match that might not occur.

The group watched various fighters. One wielded a khopesh, a sword harboring a blade that was straight near its hilt, its remainder curved.

Max pointed to the man. "It's Gron."

"Who?" Monica said.

"He's someone Gokuu and I met while getting medicine for my leg. He had stolen the Shigura's medicine. It sounded like he had a change of heart afterward, though. I wonder why he's entering."

"He kinda looks like Ungaga."

"He was kept as a hostage in Muska Lacka," Osmond said. "I think Ungaga said that he was a Scorpion Warrior, one of the Sand Warriors' enemies. I'm guessing the Scorpion Warriors gave the Sand Warriors whatever they asked for, so they freed Gron. Speaking of Ungaga, where did he go?"

Ruby pointed to the three women resembling each other, each with bronze skin. Ungaga and Xiao spoke with them. "He's over there with Xiao."

Monica stood on her toes. "I can't see at all. But why is Xiao over there?"

"She's fighting Nagita, the oldest of those sisters."

"And whoever wins will fight me next," Max said.

"I never knew Nagita fought," Osmond said. Toan shook his head. "It makes sense since they live in the desert where scorpions and monsters live, but I thought she was the type of girl who didn't like to get her hands dirty." He pushed a button on his square backpack, and his propeller spun him above the crowd. "Ah, Mikara has a weapon, too, so she must be entering. Devia, too, but she doesn't like Ungaga." He dropped to the floor. "I get it. Nagita can't let Ungaga go."

Goro snorted. "Pathetic."

"Contestants seventy-three and seventy-four, please step onto the stage."

Xiao leaped onto the stage, Nagita climbing. Nagita held a staff before herself. Xiao outstretched her arm, holding a slingshot that posed as though it surrendered, a pale head, a mop of blond hair atop, perched between its arms and beneath its sling.

"That slingshot looks like a guy," Monica said.

"That's because it is a guy," Osmond said.

"Wow. I sure wouldn't want to live life as a weapon. I wonder how that happened."

"It's humanlike, but I don't think it's a human confined to a slingshot. It's a weapon that happens to talk. Coincidentally, it's named Steve like Max's Ridepod, but since Xiao built it up, it begs us to call it Super Steve. It's strong, so we do call it 'super,' except Goro and Ruby."

Ruby examined her nails. "Since Goro's always got something lodged up there."

"You don't, either," Goro said.

"I'm a genie. I only obey Toan's commands, not a slingshot I could burn up in a second."

"Begin."

Xiao pulled the sling and released something invisible to Max. Nagita flinched and reared back. Xiao continued, yawning, Nagita rolling and jumping into Xiao's ammunition. Nagita attempted to run to Xiao, but the ammunition pressed her stomach, knocking out wind and forcing her backward.

"What type of ammunition does Xiao use?" Max said.

"Pebbles," Osmond said.

"They have to be more than pebbles if they're pushing Nagita back."

"Nope, just pebbles. As you can see, they hurt very badly."

Toan nodded twice. Xiao had accidentally shot his forehead. He had nearly lost consciousness.

Nagita charged toward Xiao, pointing the staff outward. The gong rang. The judge announced Xiao the winner, and Max tensed. Nagita could not close the gap between herself and Xiao even though she used a four-foot staff, nor could she see the pebbles. Max straightened. Since using weights, others appeared to move slowly. Perhaps he would be able to see the pebbles once on the stage.

Xiao stepped beside him, looking him up and down. She was several feet shorter than him, but height hardly mattered when using ranged weapons.

Max glanced at Toan and his allies. "Have any of you ever sparred against each other?"

Toan shook his head.

"We'd waste energy." Ruby cocked her head toward Goro. "I've wanted to, though."

Goro crossed his arms. "So have I."

Max sighed. He hoped to gain more knowledge about Xiao's fighting style.

Other contenders were called, three of whom Mikara, Ungaga, and Osmond. Mikara stabbed her opponent and then darted from their attacks. Her matches ended in decisions, the judge awarding her the right to advance. Goro declared her matches, "Boring."

Ungaga's long reach coupled with his height proved troublesome. His opponents circled toward him. When they entered Ungaga's range, Ungaga slammed his Hercule's Wrath, an axe attached to a staff, upon their heads, knocking them unconscious so that he could bide his energy for worthy opponents. Ungaga was unable to force one opponent into unconsciousness. He widely swung his staff into his opponent's stomach, tossing the muscular man off the stage. Max balked. Despite Ungaga's appearance, his strength matched Goro's.

Osmond dashed around the stage using his propeller, which the judges deemed an accessory, not a weapon. His opponents jumped to stab his stomach, but Osmond flew from them, shooting his Supernova. Max's eyes twinkled. A miniature sun was suspended in the gun's middle, and a golden arch rotated around it. At the end of the gun's trigger pointed a three-pronged cross. Osmond gripped the blue hilt, shooting wide, orange-yellow beams twice the size of the Steal Gun's, burning his opponents. Some forfeited. Others bore the pain until the minute passed, at which time the judges allowed Osmond the right to advance.

"Xiao, you haven't introduced me to your new friends, particularly the blond kid."

Max, Monica, and Lin started.

Milane raised her brow at the slingshot. "What a strange accent."

Xiao raised her slingshot. "This is Super Steve."

"Thanks, Xiao. The blond kid should know who beat him senseless at the tourney."

"Well, all right, then," Milane said, Max biting his lip.

"Contestants seventy and seventy-three, please step onto the stage."

"That's us." Max climbed onto the stage, Xiao leaping. After giving the referee his hammer, he stood across from Xiao.

Xiao stretched, tail waving. She then placed one foot before herself and aimed. Max aimed. His beams could disintegrate pebbles.

"Ready, Xiao?" Super Steve said.

Xiao nodded.

"Xiao, you get so quiet while you're fighting. You should be more talkative, like me."

Xiao focused on Max, tuning out her slingshot.

"Begin."

Xiao shot pebbles, and Max shot beams. The pebbles passed through the beams and smacked Max's chest, stomach, forehead. He reeled back, stars floating in his vision. Xiao bounced past the beams, which darkened the wall.

Max drew in air between clenched teeth. The pebbles bruised him, threatened to rupture his skin. If he wielded his hammer, he could deflect the pebbles. Xiao would be forced to forfeit.

Max shot, and Xiao sprung around the stage, shooting, the beams blasting the wall. Max swayed, the pebbles whistling past. Fighters yelped. Max surged energy into his legs. He dashed around the stage, and Xiao looked, seeing nothing.

"Listen, Xiao," Super Steve said.

Xiao's ears perked. Max closed the distance between them. She swiveled and released a pebble. Max appeared, crouching, and screwed his gun into Xiao's gut. Blood flecked his hair, and the pebble pierced his stomach. He gasped and staggered alongside Xiao, who neared the edge of the stage.

Max clutched his stomach and shot. The beam exploded upon Xiao's wielding hand, and Super Steve spun into the crowd, cursing at Max. Xiao leaped. She slammed a foot onto Goro's head and reached. Goro readjusted his hood. The slingshot smacked the wall. Xiao pounded her feet upon the wall, hanging sideways, and grabbed the slingshot. She pivoted and pushed. She bounced off Toan's head, and Toan stumbled, eyes clouding, dropping his sword. She landed on the stage.

Max resisted the urge to gawk and shot. Xiao shot, sidestepping. Max rushed to her. Xiao ducked, Max's gun passing above, and slung pebbles onto his legs. He fell and then bounded into a crouch, swiping his gun toward her ankles. She jumped, the gun splitting air. Max shot. Xiao's eyes widened. She could not dodge in midair.

The beam exploded upon her cheek, twisting her neck so that she stared at the wall. Another pierced her stomach, and she spun. A last scorched her hand, and the slingshot spiraled out, Super Steve shouting curses. It sprung off the wall and onto the floor.

"Contestant seventy-three is disqualified because her weapon fell off the stage. Contestant seventy will advance to the next round."

Xiao landed on the floor, massaging her neck and stomach. Max jumped beside her and then picked up Super Steve.

"Bastard," Super Steve said. "This shouldn't have happened. I've existed for thousands of years. How could a kid like you defeat me? No, not me. It's Xiao's fault. I told you, Xiao, you gotta train. But, no, you like relying on your cat powers to jump all over the place."

Xiao snatched Super Steve and then stuffed him into her pocket, muffling him. "You did great."

"No, you did," Max said. "You stayed in the match even after I tossed your weapon off the stage. I never could've done that."

"I bet you never tried."

Max placed a finger on his chin. "True."

They returned to the group. Toan beamed at Xiao.

"I'm glad you liked the match, Master."

"I can't believe you lost to a rookie like him," Goro said. "You should know better. You've saved the world already."

Toan scowled.

Xiao rubbed Toan's leg. "I only care what Master thinks of me."

"Another reason for you to be quiet, Goro," Ruby said.

"I don't listen to any of you, either," Goro said.

"You guys keep provoking him," Monica said. "The best thing to do is stay quiet, and he won't say anything."

"We've tried that."

Xiao stood upright and walked to Max. "I never expected you to, like, use your weapon like Master's sword. I wanted to do that, but my weapon's way too weak." She raised her thin arms. "And I'm too weak."

"We should've trained ourselves to be physically strong," Osmond said. "That way, we could've used close-range attacks just in case."

Lin looked at her hands. "Physical strength, huh?"

The group progressed. Toan, Goro, Ruby, Osmond, Gron, and Mikara advanced to the Tenkaichi Budoukai. Max, Monica, Milane, and Ungaga fought until reaching the last match determining who would rise to the tournament. Max sighed, walking to Ungaga, who stood near the three sisters. Monica smiled at Milane. They would fight each other to ascend to the tournament.


	68. Progression

**Chapter Sixty-eight: Progression**

Max squeezed toward Ungaga, who spoke with the three sisters, heart battering his chest. He deepened his breathing. His heartbeat hastened.

Devia, the middle sister, quieted when Max reached them. Nagita and Mikara faced him.

"Relax," Ungaga said. "You'll fight opponents much more intimidating than me."

"I know, but I can't help it. You seem tough to beat, and I get a feeling that you didn't use your full power during your other matches."

"Everyone has weaknesses."

Max had seen no weaknesses; Ungaga defeated many opponents in one swing since they did not equal or surpass his skill level. Perhaps, with Muten Roushi's training, Max could draw Ungaga's true strength and find weaknesses.

Max exhaled. To fight properly, he needed to be calm.

Monica and Milane's match approached. Focusing on another's match would allow Max to focus further upon his own, similarly to a warm-up exercise. Upon defeating Xiao and discovering that he would fight Ungaga, he had not paid attention to any matches. Images of Ungaga knocking him unconscious in one hit rattled him. If he could not defeat Ungaga, he could not defeat Griffon.

Gerald remained outside, with Elena, unable to encourage, to focus him. Max straightened. He had never relied on his father to achieve his goals, and he would not start.

Monica no longer watched various fighters but replayed Milane's matches and the fight between herself and Milane in Rainbow Butterfly Wood. After lunging, Milane oriented herself toward Monica to attack once more, leaving her vulnerable. However, during her matches, Milane no longer lunged but allowed the opponent to strike first to, most likely, adapt to each opponent's patterns, taking advantage of their desperateness to progress to the tournament. She parried, unbalancing her opponents and, before they regained their balance, she slammed the golden hilt of her short, purple-bladed sword, a golden line snaking its length, onto a pressure point, forcing her opponents into slumber. Like Toan and his allies, she bided her energy for worthy opponents—for Monica.

Throughout her matches, Monica had used her Cross Heinder. She had not familiarized herself with her father's Holy Daedalus Blade, and she did not want to risk losing because she wielded another sword.

"Contestants one-hundred and one-hundred-eight, please report to the stage."

"That's us," Monica said.

"Yup." Milane stretched, arching her back. "Let's do this." She jumped onto the stage, Monica backflipping.

"Do your best," Max said.

Monica waved, giving the referee her brassard. She then stepped opposite Milane.

Toan gave a thumbs-up. Monica and Milane returned his gesture.

Ruby yawned, intertwining her hands behind her head. Swords were irrelevant.

Goro flicked a booger onto a fighter's sock. He rested his hammer upon the floor, gripping it using one hand and picking his scabbed knee using the other.

Xiao's tail twitched upward. "You could fight one of them, Master."

Toan nodded, frowning.

Ungaga's expression remained neutral. Max wondered if Ungaga was capable of showing emotion.

Lin tightened her grip on her broomstick. For the sake of the world, Monica would hopefully win. Osmond, who hovered alongside Ruby, thought alike.

Milane raised her Ama no Murakumo. "I've made it a point to fight at least one monster every day. Don't underestimate me."

"I never said I would."

She smiled wryly. "Good."

"Begin."

Milane charged, sword overhead. Monica thrust her Cross Heinder against Milane's Ama no Murakumo and pushed Milane near the edge. Milane crouched, her sword screeching off Monica's. Monica swung downward. Milane scampered sideways.

Monica jabbed her lower stomach. Milane galloped backward, forcing the sword out. Monica disappeared. Milane focused on sound but did not hear movement. Black blurred toward her. She ducked. Strands of her hair drifted to the floor.

Milane pushed herself sideways, Monica slitting her stomach. Milane hacked a blur. Heat seared her side. She looked, yet Monica, who slashed in all directions, was invisible. Milane swung rapidly to guard, but Monica sliced faster. Milane sprinted backward. Monica followed. Milane crossed her sword before herself. Monica's sword clanged against it, sparks bursting. Triumph at her successful guard touched Milane.

Milane pushed. Monica remained rooted. Monica separated, and Milane stumbled into Monica's sword. She backpedaled, Monica's sword slipping out her stomach, and slashed. Monica hopped and then gashed her forehead. Blood seeped into Milane's eyes. Milane one-handedly slashed air, swiping blood from her eyes. As quickly as she removed blood, more replaced it. Red and heat enveloped her vision. She ripped air, Monica ripping her.

A gong sounded, and Monica stopped in mid-slash. She eyed the referee, Milane rubbing blood from her eyes.

"Time."

"Are you okay?" Monica said, the judge reading his notepad.

"I will be. You got me good."

"You've improved a lot, though."

"You're improved more." She tore a piece of her clothing and then pressed it against her gash. Blood flowed into it, and she opened her eyes. "No one's in your league, Monica. I'm sure not even Griffon is."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"The judge has decided. Contestant one-hundred will advance to the Tenkaichi Budoukai."

Milane chuckled. "No surprise there." She and Monica jumped off the stage. "Our world's in good hands."

"You're a great fighter, too. If you get a bit better, you could help us against Griffon."

"It'll take me years to get to your level, but all I can do is keep practicing." Milane extended an arm. "Great fight, Monica."

"Thanks, Milane." Monica grasped it, and they shook.

Toan and his allies, save Goro, who picked his nails, and a smirking Ruby congratulated Monica. She thanked them and then turned toward the stage. Would Max join her?

Max, unable to lose himself in Monica's victory, trembled beside Ungaga. He had concentrated on Monica and Milane's match but, once the judge announced the winner, his thoughts returned to Ungaga. He released a long breath. He did not loosen.

"Contestants seventy and seventy-eight, please step onto the stage."

Max stiffly handed the referee his gun. He then clambered upon the stage, Ungaga jumping across from him.

"Max looks as pale as he did when he fought with his father," Monica said.

"Ungaga's not nearly as scary," Xiao said.

"I'm looking forward to this fight," Ungaga said. "Your fighting style reminds me of Goro's, but your humility makes you more careful."

Hope flickered. Max's lack of pride could be the difference between winning and losing.

He took his battle stance. To possibly fight Goro, he needed to defeat Ungaga.

"Relax," Ungaga said.

Max was trying.

"Begin."

Ungaga dashed feet from Max, swinging. Max blocked, and Ungaga pushed Max toward the edge. Max channeled energy into his arms and thrust. Ungaga stepped backward. Max teetered toward his swinging staff. Max parried, shoving himself from Ungaga. Ungaga slammed Max's head. Max collapsed, red spilling across his vision.

"One, two…"

Max twitched. He stumbled onto his feet, and Ungaga crushed his face. He flew toward the edge, stars blossoming, sleep beckoning. He parted an eye. The ceiling blurred. He smashed his Heavy Hammer upon the floor, jerking to a stop, and landed.

Before he could right himself, Ungaga's staff cleaved toward his face. He darted, nearly fell. Ungaga's staff whistled. Max jumped, blood from his forehead, nose, mouth splattering the floor and Ungaga, and swung. Ungaga caught his hammer and pushed him onto his back. Max scurried upright and then leaped sideways, Ungaga carving air. He rolled to a stop and scrambled backward. Ungaga broke the stage. Ungaga jabbed, and Max raised his hammer. Ungaga pushed the hammer sideways. He screwed the butt of his staff into Max's stomach. Blood opened Max's mouth. He dropped to his feet, rasping, arms wobbly. He blinked repeatedly to sharpen the world.

Ungaga swung. Max raised his hammer. Their weapons clashed. Max surged energy into his arms, muscles straining, and thrust. Ungaga staggered backward and then galloped to the edge.

Ungaga spun his staff, and blue wind swirled before it. The wind whipped Max, shoving him toward the edge. He ground his feet, yet the wind dragged him backward.

If Max did not end the match, he would fall off the stage.

Max channeled energy into his legs. He inched forward, gritting his teeth. Tiredness, sleep threatened him. Channeling more energy would force him into unconsciousness. He could not quicken his pace.

He inched sideways, Ungaga turning toward him. He crouched. The wind hid him from Ungaga. He funneled energy into his right arm and then wound it. He hurled his hammer.

The hammer spun, redirecting the wind toward Ungaga, who crossed his staff before himself. Ungaga planted his feet and attempted to move sideways, but the wind pushed him toward the edge. His eyes widened.

The hammer crushed Ungaga's stomach and threw him into the scattering crowd. He crashed against the wall, rupturing it, and slumped to the floor. The hammer tumbled between his legs.

Max gawked. He had intended to end the match quickly, not to hit Ungaga that hard.

"C-contestant…contestant…" The referee pointed to Max. "He'll advance…"

The three sisters crowded Ungaga. Ungaga moaned, head lolling. Max jumped off the stage and ran to the sisters.

"Um…"

They looked sharply at him. Nagita scowled.

"I was wondering if he was all right."

Nagita pressed her face near Max's. "Does it look like he's all right?"

"Nagita, calm down," Mikara said, Max backing from them. "I'm sure he didn't mean to hit Mr. Ungaga so hard."

Nagita snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Yes, calm down, Nagita."

Nagita gasped at Ungaga's voice.

Ungaga wheezed, eyes shut. "I'm all right."

Medics, two holding a stretcher, ran to Ungaga and then hoisted him upon it.

"Max, you did a great job," Ungaga said, voice hoarse. "Your father and mother have a son they can be proud of."

The medics carried him out the temple. Max smiled.

* * *

Gokuu leaned against the temple's wall, Kuririn, Yamcha, Muten Roushi, and Palm Brinks' citizens around him. They had awaited Max and Monica's return for nearly three hours. The preliminaries in the Tenkaichi Budoukai Gokuu entered must have also spanned several hours. The fighting styles entranced Gokuu, and those preliminaries swiftly passed.

Blood-coated fighters staggered out the temple, some hauled on stretchers. On one stretcher lay Ungaga, clothes and face damp with blood. Puar squeaked and covered his mouth.

Kuririn gulped. "This tournament's even more brutal with weapons."

"I wonder who did that to him," Gokuu said. "He looked really tough."

"He might've won," Yamcha said. "His opponent must've been pretty merciless, though."

The woman resembling Toan and the girl whose hair was cupped in orange cylinders neared the martial artists. The woman introduced herself as Renee, Toan's mother, and the girl introduced herself as Paige, Toan's childhood friend.

Donny gestured toward himself and Claire. "We've known Max for pretty much all our lives, too. Claire's his next door neighbor."

"Max was the blond boy, right?" Paige said. "I saw him and that girl with one of those strange jewels Toan used to have. All those things do is cause trouble."

"That's true," Claire said, "but without them, we wouldn't have seen the outside world."

Paige shuddered. "I'm sure it's scary out there. The monsters in the Divine Beast Cave are scary enough. Not to mention how dark it is."

"I'd never go into a dark place alone. Who knows what could be lurking there?" Pink tinted Claire's cheeks. "Which is why I still sleep with a nightlight."

"Me too."

"Thankfully, Toan came home safely," Renee said. "I wish you all the best of luck in your journey, too. Make sure you visit your parents every once in a while. They're probably worried sick about you."

"I don't have any parents," Gokuu said. "And my grampa's dead."

Renee's brows arched upward. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"That doesn't mean you don't have people who would still be worried if something happened to you, Gokuu," Buruma said.

Gokuu glanced at Kuririn, Yamcha, Muten Roushi. "Yeah, that's true."

Max, Monica, Toan, and Xiao ran out the temple, Milane, Lin, and the remainder of Toan's allies following, all applying Dr. Dell's medicine. Fighters billowed behind them, splitting to the spectator's area and outside the tournament grounds.

Gokuu brightened. "You're back. How'd it go? Didja get to the tournament?"

"Sure did," Max said.

"Me too," Monica said.

Toan grinned.

"And me," Osmond said.

Goro slung his hammer over his shoulder. "Of course I did."

"Everyone was so weak," Ruby said.

Xiao's ears sunk. "Not me." She perked. "But I'll be rooting for Master all the same."

"What happened to that really tall guy?" Gokuu said.

Max scratched the back of his head. "I kinda knocked him out by accident. I didn't mean to hit him so hard." He cringed. He had also hit Monica with more force than intended.

"As long as you didn't hurt him fatally," Muten Roushi said. "I'm proud of you all, and I'm expecting great matches in the tournament."

"Congrats," Kuririn said, "and good luck in the Tenkaichi Budoukai proper." He and Max shook hands. He then stepped before Monica and reached.

She narrowed her eyes. "You're gonna pull me into a hug, aren't you?"

"Does it look like I will?"

"How would I know?"

Kuririn rubbed his chin. "I'm painfully shy around women—"

"Not on Mount Gundor."

Kuririn faltered. "That was an attempt to save your life, ma'am." He fisted his hips. "And it went pretty well, I'd say."

"Of course you'd say that."

He shrunk. "I mean, you're still with us."

"And I'm very happy about that."

Monica's eyes grew. She turned toward the soft voice, and her mother stood. Monica lost her breath.

"You're here." Monica embraced Sophia, her smile broadening. Sophia had winced each time Monica wielded a sword and refused to watch Monica and King Raybrandt spar. Monica tightened her embrace. "Thank you."

"It was no trouble. I figured that I should support you somehow."

"No, Mother. You've supported me plenty."

Sophia tore herself from Monica to look at Toan and his allies. "I'm happy to see you all again."

Toan nodded.

"I hope you all do well in the tournament. Don't fight too hard."

The contenders thanked Sophia, Max stuttering. Sophia radiated royalty: Her orange, frilly dress drifted near the ground, and two guards flanked her. However, she treated Max and the others equally, as though her status did not matter. Monica had done the same; when Max first met her, she mentioned her status as an aside. Max gawked, asked her to repeat herself. Monica had done so and said that she did not want Max to treat her as a princess but as an equal.

Sophia cocked her head. "Are you Maximilian?"

Max bowed. "Yes. Nice to meet you, Your Majesty."

"And you're Son Gokuu?"

"Yup. I mean, yes, ma'am."

"And you must be Kuririn and Yamcha."

Kuririn and Yamcha bowed.

"I've heard great things about all of you. Thank you for restoring the world. Because of you all, the world is almost completely different than it once was. The monsters respect humans, and the humans respect the monsters. After I addressed the kingdom about the immorality of racism, the amount of it fell considerably. It wasn't an overnight process, but people are kinder to one another." Her eyes softened. "It's a world Seda would've been proud of.

"Scholars have started writing about you in history books. They're going to teach schoolchildren about you and your adventure."

Max, Kuririn, and Yamcha gaped.

Kuririn blushed. "Wow. Thanks. I, I, uh, I dunno what to say." Yamcha shook his head.

"No, thank you. You're an inspiration to us all."

Gerald and Elena approached, hand in hand. Max tensed, and Xiao bristled.

"You made it to the tournament?" Gerald said.

"Yes, Father."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you, Father."

"Yes, congratulations, Max," Elena said. "It's amazing how strong you've become."

Max bit his lip.

Gerald glared. "You're not going to thank your mother for coming out to support you?"

"Thank you, Mother."

"Be sincere, Max."

"It's all right, Gerald," Elena said. "Max, I wish you the best of luck. Be careful."

His parents faded into the crowd. Max crossed his arms.

Toan blinked. He wished his father could support him.

"You know," Sophia said, "every day, I fear for Monica's safety. I never know if, when she'll be taken from me."

Monica stepped nearer to her mother. "Is it okay if we walk around for a while?"

"Of course." Sophia and Monica disappeared into the spectator's area.

Max unfolded his arms. Gokuu's parents were, most likely, dead. Kuririn hardly spoke of his parents, and Yamcha did not talk about his. Monica had not seen her mother in several months and did not know when she would see her again.

He ran into the crowd, excusing himself. His mother and father walked ahead. He joined them, nestled between them, leaned upon his mother. They continued in comfort.


End file.
